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Chapter IV Economy and Society
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In thts chapter we will try first to understand the economic situation of
PUQ.Qravardharia/Varendra in the past. In the previous chapters we indicated about the
economic potentiality of this land. Our discussions would necessarily concentrate on
two broad sectors: agriculture and crafts. Of the two, agriculture being the primary
one for all periods of history would be dealt first. Before entering into the past we
may take a note of some crops and practices in agriculture of today and recent past.
When we hinted about the favourable agronomic condition of ancient
Pundravardhana/Varendra we also mentioned that today's North Bengal with grim . . .
agricultural and industrial capacity exhibits a startling contrast with its historical past. .J Today it is the least populated sub-region of Bengal. However, there are still some
patches of habitation zones where both density of population and yield of food crops
are noticeable. Farmers continue to raise traditional crops in areas where moisture ,-. content of soil is high due to the contiguity of rivers or other water bodies. We
----mentioned ab_out the high yielding capacity of both regions of Mahasthan and ' - .. ··~. -
Bangarh even these days. Besides, there are still several blocks of low lands in other
parts of North Bengal, which produce good crops. Although farmers are now getting
used of artificial fertilizer and technology they did not leave traditional know-bows. A
picture of this intelligent combination can be had from the study of some members of
French team in the immediate vicinity of Mahasthangarh. 1 It throws light on the
prevalent agronomic pursuits underlying how the farmers are profiting from the
elevated topography bordered on two sides by two rivers, the Karatoya and Nagar.
The soil is very fertile while the rivers help retain moisture in it and the height keep it
safe from flooding. Farmers of ancient times must have got better natural environment
for raising crops than today as rivers carried enormous water earlier. The whole land
when became hospitable its numerous rivers, channels and water bodies provided
fertility and moisture to the adjacent tracks. The elevated tracks, which now turned
out dry lands, and which in the absence of irrigation facility cannot yield more than
1 FIR, 46-58.
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one crop per year, perhaps were treated as prized ones for certain crops earlier like
sugarcane and cotton.
We cannot produce a present crop map of Bengal to show the relative position
of this sub-region. Here we will pick up some information from the description of F.
B. Hamilton. His visit in Dinajpur and Rangpur had fallen in time when a gradual
shift was noticeable in crop pattern to keep pace with the change of environment due
to decreasing riverine resource. His observation thus appears significant particularly
for North Bengal as a helping tool to visualize the past. Here we will refer to those
crops mentioned by him, which found mention in old sources. He recorded that
sugarcane was cultivated in considerable lands till the 18 111 century. His .description
shows how in early times the physical environment of North Bengal suited perfectly
for the growth of sugarcane about which we got a plenty of information in early
sources. Its cultivation needs 'a rich free soil, sufficiently elevated to be entirely
exempt from inundation, but not so high as to be deprived of moisture.:.'. He found
Dinajpur as having much such land. But owing to the decreasing water resource
'much land formerly cultivated for sugar-cane is now applied to other purp.oses~/ Of
the food crops we see paddy remains as the most important one. He observed rice
(Oriza Sativa) as the principal crop of Dinajpur and mentioned names of various
types. The finest ones are cultivated in the high fields of stiff clay, which can yield
normally a single crop a year in winter. The winter crop is highly valued as this is the
sole source for fodder of cattle.3 Of the oil seeds the commonest is the mustard seeds
locally called sorisha. 'It is the great winter crop' of Dinajpur district. We do not
know this district's vis-a-vis North Bengal's present position in mustard seed yield.
But West Bengal, according to the account of economic botany is one of the major
states in India.4 F. B. Hamilton mentioned sesame also as another oil seed, which was
'raised in the poor parts of the light soil' .5 In today's map India is held as one of the
leading producers of sesame (Sesamum Indicum) of the world, where West Bengal
stands as a major sesame supplying state.6 Of the other crops we may refer to the
cotton cultivation. He says that the quality of cotton raised in the end of wet season
2 Eastern India, Vol. 3, 855-857. 3 Ibid, Vol. 3, 815-27. 4 Rape and mustard crop (family: Brassicaceae) is mainly grown in China and Indian subcontinent.S. L. Kochhar, Economic Botany in the Tropics. (Macmilan India Ltd.), New Delhi, first published I 981, secon ed. 1998, I 61-62. 5 Eastern India, Vol. 3, 830-3 I. 6 Ibid, I 74.
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and in the southeast part of Dinajpur is finer than the one 'imported from west of
India.' This also needs high land of stiff as well as free soil. 7
The· Earliest Phase of Economy .~ ..
The beginning phase, for which we will depend on the excavation report of the
France-Bangladesh team, shows a confused picture. The levels 1-4 exposed in a
limited area brought very limited objects into light in terms of variety. It is thus not
possible to go in detail about agricultural products, pattern or people. The artifacts,
especially ceramics in this case, and dwelling materials and technology may be
interpreted to get a rough idea about the material life of Mahasthan. We saw that the
archaeological evidence from the recent excavation in Mahasthangarh by the France
Bangladesh team_P!?.Y~~ a pr > Maury' a settlement. We also argued that the same must ~-
be the case for Bangarh (see settlement history). In both Mahasthangarh and Bangarh
thls ph~se did not register masonry for dwelling houses. We mentioned that now the
proDiioilityof a 'tiny and obscure village' in Mahasthan by some in the French team
(inducting J. F. Salles) has been considered.8 We_told in the discussion of settlement
history that the houses in this phase are basically earth based and later wood was also
found as base material. We also told that evidence of mud houses in pre-city phase ----
cannot be accepted as indicator of poverty of the inhabitants. Presence of burnt bricks
for some cases from level 2 in Mahasthangarh may be taken as indicative of having
feligious buildings. Keeping in mind the common housing materials of rural Bengal
these building elements definitely show that the major section of the early inhabitants
was well off. Of the professions we may identify at least a few from the remains.
Discovery of large number o.f NBPW9 is a pointer to the presence of skilled potters. ------ ---- .
The large number is coupled with its larger share in the whole assemblage of
ceramics. It is argued that more number actually proves NBPW's more domestic use
7 Eastern India, Vol. 3, 853. 8 J. Y. Breuil & J. F. Salles, 'Excavation at Mahasthangarh: Evidence of Some Stratigraphical Data', 75-76. 9 However, till now we do not have the actual figure for the ceramics recovered by the joint excavation in Mahasthangarh. The updated study in the FIR states that 'a fairly large number of pottery sherds (several hundreds of thousands) were collected in the limited area of excavation' and the database for fine ware has yet not been prepared (p.273). Elsewhere it is stated that level l yielded less than hundred fragments while level 8 more than 8000 (p.28l ). In phase l (for ceramic study, in the updated study earliest phase is constituted by levels 1-5) fine ware shares more than 60%> of the total ceramic assemblage. The NBP (including RW) share is 80% in the fine ware, which includes Black Polished
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as it accrued less manufacturing cost. lt means that NBPW was not a part of
consignment. But the NBP was restricted to tableware. 1° For cooking and other
purposes Mahasthan people used other wares. The price of fine ware must have been
higher than utilitarian ware. The large number, on the other hand, proves that potters
of Mahasthangarh got a good domestic market also if we accept that these were not
really meant for exportation. It is natural that along the potters there must have been
some cultivators of whatever capacity: big landholders, simple peasants or
agricultural labourers, who grew excess crops to cater the need of at least potters and
some others engaged in professions other than agriculture of this area. Some
individuals should be expected in house building. Brick making of whatever quantity
can be another area where we may find some other workers. Although this type of
work could be slack season work for a marginal farmer also. 'J
We are not sure about how many people actually were living in the early phase
according to the above mentioned opinion who could have been inhabited in a small
'tiny village'. We may remember that nine more sites with NBPW and other objects
had been identified by S. S. M. Rahman (settlement history). All these may reveal the
pre-city phase occupation aiso provided deep digging is conducted till the virgin soil.
In that case we may expect more than one settlement localities in Mahasthan area.
The joint excavations of France-Bangladesh team in Mahasthangarh 'confirm a dense
occupation from the end of the fourth /beginning of the 3rd century BC to the 2nd
century AD.' 11 It cannot be expected that a large exodus took place from the ~id
Ganga valley to occupy the land as soon as it became congenial for habitation. The
majority of the inhabitants must have been local. For Bangarh nothing can be said
precisely.
Agriculture
From the Maurya to the Gupta Period
The picture is becoming clearer from level 5 belonging to the 3rd century BC
in Mahasthangarh. A sudden surge in material life is evident from all remains. Here
we may refer to the information provided by the FIR ofthe discovery of some storage
Ware with red core also (p.282). The Bangladesh account has not cleared the point about the quantity or ceramics in the early phase. 1° FIR, 280. 11 This observation is made in connection with the study of coins.- FIR. 243.
107
jars containing rice from the level 6 dated to the end of the 3rd /beginning of 2nd -~-·~ --
century BC. 12 The ¥ahasthan inscription 13 clearly speaks of surplus crops stored in
the granary (under the supervision of local officials), which was situated within the
fortified area (esa kothagale-eshal) kosh~h'agaral!). From the description it appears .~ ..
that there were stored at least three kinds of grains like paddy (dhanya), sesame (tila)
and mustard seeds (sarshapa). Amongst all raising paddy must have held an
important place in agriculture, as it is the staple food of Bengal since the beginning. It
appears that all these three agronomic products, paddy, mustard seed and sesame,
were raised in Pundravardhana from very early times. Description of F. B. Hamilton
shows till the middle of the 181h century considerable land was allotted for these
crops. We mentioned above that Bangarh still is regarded as a granary of West
Dinajpur. Mahasthan region's high yield is also noticed. Both these localities, which
witnessed two large urban centres and vast habitation around must have collected rich
harvest in the agricultural lands. The Mahasthan inscription informs us that crops
were stored as a precautionary measure to fight the natural calamities like famine,
drought, etc. If the stored crops were meant for the farmers, (although they had to
replenish these when plenty will return) it suggests how the role of farmers had been
duly emphasized by the state in the operation of agriculture.
Growing Awareness of the Economic Value of Land
For the Gupta period we do not have any epigraphic evidence showing
agronomic products. But epigraphs of this age prove bringing more and more untilled
but cultivable lands (khila kshetra) under plough through religious gifts. The rural
Pundravardhana as well as Bengal for the first time surfaced in the epigraphs with .. some land holding communities. Two distinct groups, mahattaras and kutumbis, were
• found as associated in the adhikaranas of the vfthf level and in the
• ashtakuladhikarana or gramashtakulezdhikarana of the 'supra-village level' .14 Their . . . . ..
role in the local adhikararza left no room for doubt that the members in each category
were important landholders. Distinction in social status between the two and the
12 FIR, 106. 13 D. C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions, Vol. I, 82-83. 14 This particular expression is used by B. D. Chattopadhyaya. It implies that the ashtakuladhikarana stood above individual villages but functioned as 'a link between upper tiers of local political organization and villages interconnected in its network'. -8. D. Chattopadhyaya, Aspects of Rural Settlements and Rural Society, 36-39 and 43.
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actual nature of the role of mahattara in the adhikarana will be dealt later in the
context of society. In general kutumhis were the average agriculturists. In addition . .
there were peasantry, the small farmers, who owned land and cultivated those by
.themselves and land-labourers (the kshetrakaras of Dhanaidaha record?'\ We see
that during the fi~ne of land transfer the inhabitants of the village or villages where the
gift land was situated were communicated about the transaction of land. Even
mahattaras and kutumbis were told to be present to observe (pratyavekshya
Damodarpur plate 3, I. 10 16) the whole work of measurement and severance of the gift
land. It is a proof of growing importance of land in rural economy. We see from the
Gupta age epigraphs, which chronologically spanned for more than hundred years, a
meticulous process was followed for land transfer. For each transaction certain fixed
steps were taken. The practice of making copper plate charter for land transfer thus
introduced remained in vogue throughout the ancient period although in post Gupta
period many changes took place especially in terms of participation of notable social
groups. But the introduction of copper plate charter legitimizing the transfer by the
administration is an evidence of growing importance of agriculture vis-a-vis land.
Land Measures
For the first time we come across units of land measure (kulyavapa, 17
drof}avapa, 18 acjhav1Ipa, 19 etc). Not only that the donated land when finally handed
over to the donee it was demarcated by a fixed linear measure of a nala (reed or
bamboo) called ash!aka-navaka-nala.20 The Baigram plate21 states that the gift land
15 R. G. Basak, 'Dhanaidaha copper plate inscription ofthe time ofKumaragupta 1: The year 113', I. 9. 16 Idem,' The Five Damodarpur copperplate inscriptions of the Gupta period'. 17 According to D. C. Sircar I kulyavapa was equal to 45/50 acrse of land. -D. C. Sircar, Pal-Purba luger Bangshanucharita, I 0 I. Elsewhere he says that I kulyav"Gpa was equal to 38 to 48 bighas of land. It might also mean land of any amount between 125 and 160 bighas. -D. C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions, Vol. I, 287-89. B. M. Morrison, however, from an alternative calculation reached a different result. It approximately comes to I acre of land.- B. M. Morrison, Political Centres and Cultural Regions of Early Bengal, (Rawat Publications), Jaipur, 1980,87-89. 18 I kulyavapa is made by 8 dro1Jav1ipas of land.- D. C. Sircar, Indian Epigraphical Glossary, (Motilal Banarasidass), Delhi, 1966, 166. 19 4 adhaviipas make I dronavapa. -D. C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions, Vol. I, 361, f. n. 7. 20 E. F. Pargiter explained that the land measured by this nata would be a rectangle having eight lengths in one side and nine lengths in another side. -F. E. Pargiter, 'Three Copper-Plate Grants from East Bengal', The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 39, 1910, 115-216. B. M. Morrison tried to get a different implication of this expression. According to his opinion the reed should be eight hast a (hand) long making it approximately 160" or 13' long. 9lengths in each side is marked by this nata. The area thus delimited is 'same as the area of the modem Bengali bigha. -B. M. Morrison, Political Centres and Cultural Regions of Early Bengal, 87-88. 21 R. G. Basak, 'Baigram copperplate inscription of the Gupta year 128'.
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was marked out by the chaff and charcoal (tushaizgaradina, 1.19). It is another attempt
to demarcate the land more precisely although with temporary materials. In the Code
of Law these means are repeatedly emphasized. Neighbours, whose plots were
adjacent to the donated one, were told to be personally present so that their interests,
in no way were to be harmed by the act of severance. It means that the owner of
adjacent lands should personally check that his portion remained intact. Cultivators
(ku{umbis and kshetrakaras) sometimes were even asked to severe the land
(Dhanaidaha plate, 1.9.). All these show awareness about the economic significance of
land in rural areas. Land was regarded not only as valuable but a concern already
arose that it is not limitless. Hence so much care is found for demarcating the donated
piece of land and personal presence of the neighbours during the time of actual
transaction. Land is a valuable asset so it starte? to be transacted through the medium
of gold dinara.
Various Types of Land
In addition, we see classification of land according to its potentiality ..
Cultivable but fallow lands were called khila ksetra; cultivated lands were only
kshetra; not cultivated land was aprahata; unyielding land was aprada;22 land
covered by shrubs is stamba.23 The homestead was known as vastu.24 There was
difference in price between the cultivated and fallow lands. In Damodarpur plates we
see the rate was fixed at 3 dinara per kulyavapa of fallow lands. The Baigram plate
shows there I kulyavapa of waste land was sold by 2 dinaras(ls. 11-12). There also no
difference is made in the rate of price between the homestead (vastu) and fallow (as
covered by shrubs, stamba). We see variations actually occurred in terms of locality.
The difference in price in the same time in two contiguous vishayas cannot be
interpreted otherwise. It appears that land in the Ko~ivarsha vishaya was sold in higher
22 The term apradlihas been explained by R. G. Basak to mean 'a land of which no previous gift (prada) was made'. This alternative meaning is given in the Cmpus Inscription lndicarum (hereafter Cll), Vol, 3, revised by D. R. Bhandarkar, and, edited by B. Chhabra and G. S. Gai, 1981, 290. Sometimes we get a long expression like apradaprahata-khi/a-kshetra (Damodarpur plate I, I. 7-8.) to ..../ mean fallow cultivable land but now it is unyielding (at the time of putting prayer for land purchase) as · it remained uncultivated. Hence aprahata is 'fallow land' and khi/a is the 'land never tilled'. -Ibid, 286 and f. n. 9. -23 D. C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions, Vol. I, 386, f. n. 9. 24 For detailed classifications one may seeS. R. Das, 'Types of Land in North-Eastern India (from 4'h century to 71
h century AD)', in B. D. Chattopadhyaya (cd.), Essays in Ancient Indian Economic HistOI)l, New Delhi. 1987.63-64.
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prices than the rest of the Pundra country. In the Paharpur plate of about 4 7925 also we
see the price of I kulyavapa of land was only 2 dinaras. 26 Here also we see vastu and
khilakshetra arc sold at the same rate. The Faridpur plates27 show that price of
cultivable land was higher even than that in Kotivarsha. Here 1 kulyavapa was sold at
4 d~ - 28 maras.
Many a cases land was donated to vedajna B1'ahmm;as who must have
immigrated from the midland. Lands donated for religious purposes made way for
more agriculture. All these indicate growing usc of land and increasing number of
landholding individuals in villages. Gift to temples, on the other hand, perhaps
indicates that farming for such cases were done by a class of sharecroppers.29 To
answer whether there were other occupational groups like the potters, carpenters,
iron-smiths, and the service classes, like the barbers, our sources have nothing. But in }
an agricultural society they must form an e~sential component. And in society with
increasingly widening cultivable areas, as a natural consequence of growing practice
of grants of fallow lands, the presence of such groups must have becoming more and
more necessary.
· In the previous chapter we have shown density of settlements during the Gupta
period has been attested in areas where gift lands were located. Settlement remains
perfectly match the epigraphic evidence. It appears that till the Gupta age the tract in
NS direction right from the north ofDinajpur across the whole Bogra district down to
the Nator division of the Rajshahi district had been the most agronomically
rewarding.
25 K. N. Dikshit, 'Paharpur Copper-plate Grant of the [Gupta] Year 159'. 26 The donee put 3 dinliras for I Y2 kulyavlipas showing that the price of I kul)'avapa should be 2 dinaras. 27 F. E. Pargiter, 'Three Copper-Plate Grants from East Bengal', 193-216. lH B. D. Chattopadhyaya has concluded that the change in the intrinsic value in gold dinara could not have been the reason for the higher price. - B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', Joumal oflndian Hist01y, Vol. 55, Pt. Ill, (the Department of History, University of Kerala), Trivandrum, 41-60. 29 1-tsing found that Buddhist monasteries normally leased out their lands to share croppers. It was in compliance with the regulation made by the Buddha. This would free a monk from committing sin of killing living beings when provide him ample time for the persuasion of monastic life. J. A. Takakusu, (ed. & tr.), 1-tsing 's Record of the Buddhist Religion as preached in India and Malaya Archipelago (AD 6 7 I -695). Ox ford. 1896, 61-2. In normal cases perhaps temple holdings, Buddhist, Brahmanic or Jain alike, were cultivated usually by sharecroppers.
Ill
Post Gupta Age We face a severe dearth of information for Pundravardhana with the end of the . . .
Gupta rule till the rise of the Pal as. The epigraph of AD 544 from Damodarpur is the
last inscription proving imperial hold of Magadha on this sub-region. More than 200
years after W~ get another set of epigraphs belonging to the Pala period. Perhaps
Gau~araja Sasahka (roughly first half of the i 11 century) wielded sway in
Pundravardhana. But his epigraphs and coins put the western sub-region, the R~dha, v . . . as a main stage of happenings. By this time significant changes took place in the
administrative system in terms of land grants, which are the main source for us for the
agronomic history. From the economic point of view details of these changes cannot
be our concern. But the epigraphs imply that more gifts of khila lands were taking
place to the Brahmaf!as and different religious establishments in other parts of Bengal.
A new category of Brahmana landholders arose who came to be known as
agraharinas who started to play significant role in local administrative tiers m
western Bengal. It by implication may mean that the land they got as agraharas had
given them sufficient return in the form of good harvest. With it we see a gradual
increase in population. New habitation zones are coming into existence in the
agriculturally suitable vast terrains. Even Pul).~ravardhana now shows more settlement
localities. When the veil lifted in the Pala period with the occurrence of new sets of
land grants we see human habitations can be noticed in zones where earlier no trace or
very- scanty traces of human occupation had been found. We have shown in the '
settlement history about the habitation localities in the western part of
Pundravardhana. Archaeological remains are in harmony with the epigraphic .... _._ evidence. This part perhaps became habitable late but proved to be the most
prospective with time.
Literary sources also reflect Pul).~ravardhana as a well settled country. From
the description of Hiuen Tsang we came to know about the flourishing population and
abundance of crops in Put].~ravardhana. The Ramacharita portrays a land, the
i)'rosperity of which was ~ase~ on fertile land, which can grow a variety of paddy,
high quality sugarcane, clumps of bamboo, cardamom, areca nut, coconut, and many . ~ ... --
more. Here we see those trees in abundance, which arc known as important host trees
for silk cocoons. These are asana, lakucha, bakula, champaka, naga, etc.
That Puqqravardhana really grew excellent sugarcane is proved by the Devi- VI/ bhagavata, which we mentioned in textual chapter. Its importance was such that the
'
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Pau~~ra Ikshu was regarded an essential item for the worship of devf. Later a type of
sugar was named after Pury9ra. When Buchanan Hamilton says about the cultivation
of sugarcane in vast expanse of high lands in Dinajpur till recent past of his visit it
appears as a corroborative evidence for the past. Besides, it befits the >to:'/e.k.~-M
changes of North Bengal effected after the great flood of 1787, which depriveci'the
land of the environment needed for raising sugarcane.
Excess rice production is supported by the reference to granaries since very
early period. Excavation of Bangarh revealed bases of granary I ike structures
belonging to the Pala period.30 Here we may mention that an epigraph of late Pala
period also gives evidence of granary in Deviko~a,31 supposed to be located in the
citadel of Bangarh. Later references to rice export upstream to other regions from
Dinajpur may supply an insight about the agronomic potentiality of this land. W. W.
Hunter speaks in the 19111 century about the winter rice of Dinajpur, which above we
mentioned as the best crop, which once consisted about the entire export to Uttar
Pradesh from this district. Again we came to know that 'great quantities of rice were
transported upstream' to Bihar also from the same district. Rice was supplied to lower
Bengal down the Ganga (Bhagirathi).32 Here we should mention about the_observation
of F. B. Hamilton regarding winter rice.33 He found doangsh or mixed soil of
Dinajpur as highly productive for varied crops. It occupied 46 percent of the whole
cultivable land free from inundation (excluding low river banks of mixed soil). Its
lower and middle parts grew very rich winter crop of rice.
Land Measures
Pala records incorporate some more land measures. These are actually lower
measures than the Gupta period's kulyavapa, dro'!-avapa and cu!havapa. The next
lower unit to adhavapa is unmana (udamana or udana), which appears to have been
an immediate bigger unit of kakini (kanT and probably IWka were used as
3° K. G. Goswami, 'Excavations at Bangarh ', 7. 31 The Rajibpur plate of Madanapala states that the gift land was attached to the granary (koshfhagara) ofDevikota.- S.C. Mukherji, 'The Three Recently Discovered Copper Plates ofthe Pala Period', 173-74. 32 The information is taken from D. K. Chakrabarti, Archaeological Geography of the Ganga Plain, 59-60. 33 Eastern India, Vol. 3, 587.
113
synonymous).34 The newly deciphered plate of Gopala II perhaps introduces even
lowerer units namely pada or padani and ardha-kakinT i.e. half kakinl. It also speaks
of another called pramaf!a.35 The editor and translator of this plate has not explained
these measures. Pada perhaps a measure counted by footstep of any standard length.
Along with the lower land measures we see some more types of lands repeatedly
mentioned in the Pala records. For maximum instances we see one or more villages or
a section of it or more (palli) were gifted to the donee. The demarcation of a village is
mentioned in a stereotype manner in most grants36-sa-siinZi-tr11:a yuti (sometimes
puti also)-gochara-paryanta i. e. up to the grass and pasture lands on the boundary of
the village. It implies that pasture land showed the end of a village or habitation
section.
Within the limit of a village remainetl patches of land covered by amra
(mango) <1;nd madhuka trees, jala-sthala (swamps?), gartta (low lands and pits) and
ushara (high lands, infertile, etc.).37 The description appears to mean that some lands
in villages yielded nothing and at the same time these were uncultivable also. But
these required separate mention to ensure donee's right over these located within the
boundary of the gift village.
Different Landholding Groups
Of the landholding groups we get mahamahattama (or mahiimahattara )38,
mahattara, kutumbi and kshetrakara. No hints are available about the interrelation
between these groups. We may take that those donees endowed with village/s did not
get to do anything with agriculture. The different types of dues to be accrued from the
gift villages ensured their livelihood.
34 The real measure of all units actually varied from place to place. In standard use I kiikaniwas made
I by -of a drona. The relation between unmana and adha is not certain. From the Naihati plate of 16 . . Vallalasena D. C. Sircar deduced that more than 40 unmanas made I acjha. He showed that I 'll~haviipa
I was equal to about 5 bighiis and I unmana was probably 9 bigha. It implies that I acjhavapa was ./
made by 45 unmanas- D. C. Sircar, 'Udamana in Bengal Epigraphs', IHQ, first published 1950, rep. 1955,309-13. 35 S.C. Mukherji, 'Two New Copper Plates of King Gopala', 63. 36 E. g. the Bangarh and Belwa plates of Mahipala I, Jajilpara grant of Gopala III, Amgachhi grant of Vigrahap~ala III, etc. 37 We may remember the description of landscape in the Ramacharita. It mentions pasture grounds, marshy areas, large and small tanks, ponds, and canals. 38 F. Kielhom, 'Khalimpur Plate of Dharmapaladeva', 253-58.
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Scriculturc
Situation of Late Medieval and Recent Past
References to silk of Pundra country has been found in the pre-Christian
centuries. It is argued in different writings that this silk was not mulberry silk. 39 A
considerable study on the tradition of silk production in Bengal (concentrated
basically in North Bengal) was carried out resulting in the three monographs (during
1899-1907) by a same author, N. G. Muke1ji,40 who worked under the British
Government. These throw light on the silk trade in the beginning years of the English
East India Company in Bengal. The emphasis is put to prove that mulberry silk of
North Bengal came down from very early times. He found a group still called Pu~qra
(Punda), majority of them live in Maida and some in Rajshahi and Murshidabad )
districts still in his time (we do not know about today's position). Tiiey arc regarded
as hereditary caste for 'silk-worm rearing' .41 His study thus may help in linking the
earliest references to silk of Puq.qravardhana/Varendra. In the East India Company's
record of 1661-1685 we get 3 kinds of native reeled silk, putta, puttany and dolleria
(<Dhali, which meant white silk). The last called Dhali is made from Barapalu
cocoons. In the 1 ih century this particular type was in high demand from the
European companies. The English East India Company exported Barapalu mainly
from Cossimbazar where these were collected from different districts of Bengal.42 It is
indicated in another study43 that a prosperous trade of silk existed when the European
companies entered in Bengal in the 1 i 11 century. Their entry in Bengal resulted in a
'shift from spice to silk' for exportation. Citing the documents of 1661 preserved in
the British Museum (appears to be the same used in N. G. Mukerji's work as
Company's record of 1661-1685) we see that the market value of Bengal silk in Agra
was regulated by the ups and downs of silk price in Cossimbazar and also by the rise
and fall of exchange money from Cossimbazar to Pattana (Patna?) and Agra. It
.J 39 See A. Chattopadhyaya, 'Some Crafts of Ancient Bengal (Textile)', in B. D. Chattopadhaya, (ed.), Essays in Ancient Indian Economy, (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.), 1987, 133. See also I. Habib and F. Habib, Economic Map Of India. 182. 40 N. G. Mukerji, 1-iandhook of Sericulture, (Bengal Sccratariat Press), Calcutta, 1899; Idem, A Monograph on the Silk Fabrics of Bengal, (Bengal Secratariat Press), Calcutta, 1903; and, Idem. A Bird 's-Eye View on Indian Sericulture, (Bengal Secratariat Press), Calcutta, 1907. 41 Idem, A Monograph on the Silk Fabrics of Bengal, 13. 42 Ibid, 8-9. 4
.1 Rajat Datta, 'Markets, Bullion and Bengal's Commercial Economy: An Eighth Century Perspective', in Om Prakash and Denys Lombard, ( eds.), Commerce and Culture in the Bay of Bengal, 1500-1800, (Manohar), Delhi, 1999, 330.
115
appears that the silk exported must have been the Barapalu silk as the information has
been taken from the same source. The Barapalu cocoons of Bengal qualitatively come
to the second position in the world's mulberry silk culture. We get eight types of
mulberry cocoons. The best is Bombyx Mori reared in Europe, China, Japan,
Kashmir, etc.; the next is Bombyx Textor or Barapalu of Bengal; Barapat of Assam
comes very close to Barapalu. Bombyx Meridionalis of Mysore and Kollegal are as
good as Barapalu cocoons.44 N.G. Mukerji recorded a dwindling state of Barapalu by
his time. The cultivators neglected its culture as Barapalu eggs take maximum time
(1 0 months) for hatching.45 Bengal Tasar also enjoyed reputation in the Mughal
period. It was known as tatband produced in the sarkar of Ghoraghat46 of North
Bengal. Tasar cocoons are also of varied types. The best is An theria Y amamai of
Japan. The Tasar from it is of greenish white colour. Next is China Tasar or Antheria
Pemyi. Assam Tasar known as Muga (Antheroea Assama) is as good as that of
China. The Antheria Mylitta of Bengal is of last quality.47 Muga (Assam) cocoons are
reared on sum (Machilus Odoritissima), sualu (Tetranthera Monopetala), mejankuri
(Tetranthera Polyantha) and (Golden or Yellow) champak (Michelia Champaka), the
Bengal Tasar is reared on asan or saj (Terminalia Tomentosa), sal (Shorea Robusta),
arjun (Terminalia Arjuna), sidha, dhau, baer (Ziziplus Mauritiana), country almond,
etc. Its principal host plant is arjun and secondary is sal.48 The least counted silk of
Bengal is Endi, Eri, or Eria (Attacus Ricini). Unlike the first two it is spun silk. Assam
produces better Eri than Bengal. Mixing up of brick coloured cocoons makes the
Bengal Eri silk less pleasing. Assam Eri is large and white. Eri does not eat mulberry
leaves. It feeds on Castor plant (locally called bhelna) leaves.49 It appears from the
above description that Eri was never included in the consignment for the market of
Cossimbazar where the English East India Company collected Bengal silk. Only
Barapalu found a good market and reputation for a certain period. Interestingly here
we see Barapalu as definitely a fine silk from mulberry cocoon. And Barapalu,
because of the negligence of the cultivators, perhaps vanished during the late years of
44 N. G. Mukerji, A Bird's-Eye View on Indian Sericulture, 5. 45 Idem, Handbook of Sericulture, 21. 46 I. Habib and F. Habib, Economic Map Of India,182. 47 N. G. Mukerji, Handbook ofSericulture, 152 and Idem, A Bird's-Eye View on Indian Sericulture, 5. 48 Idem, A Bird's-Eye View on Indian Sericulture, 5. For description of hosting plants one may see also G. Ganga and J. Sulochana Chetty, An Introduction to Sericulture, New Delhi, 1991, l-3. 49 N. G. Mukerji, Handbook of Sericulture, 153 and Idem, A Monograph on the Silk Fabrics of Bengal, 138-139 and 143.
116
the 19th or early years of 20th century. Tasar or Muga silk, common in Bengal today, is
clearly different from Barapalu.
We may mention that when Bernier referTed to Bengal's silk it might have
indicated that from North Benga1.50 It is found that still in the 18th century Rangpur,
Dinajpur, Purnea and Bhagalpur were recognized as the 'mulberry silk producing
districts of Bengal' .51 The Theophila cocoon is found wild on mulberry trees in the
HimJ-Iayas at the height of 500 to 4000 ft. 52 It is supposed that 'all varieties of
mulberry cocoons' to be found in different countries perhaps have their genesis in
Theophila, 'as the Theophila cocoons also are indifferently loose or firm, white or
yellow'. 53 From the above citations it appears that the people ofthis part of India were
acquainted with the mulberry silk from very early times.
It is found that the Naga . Hills, the Lusai Hills and Manipur are
environmentally suitable for silk cocoons. 54 Recent studies found a broader zone for
Muga cocoon culture in the not1h-eastern belt including Coochbehar. It is claimed that
present Coochbehar district produced Muga silk in the 16th century. It is told that the
cloth called Brndavani (because the Vaishnavas in north-eastern monasteries used to . . wear it) has no difference with the silk cloth of Tibet of medieval time. 55 It shows that
a vast land already acquainted with silk, which in the beginning, in the late pre
Christian era, perhaps was obtained from the cocoons fed on mulberry, the natural
plant of the eastern Himalayas or other trees of this belt. We see that some other
plants,which feed the cocoons like sal, champak, etc. grow in this area as its physical
environment is suitable for them.56 The information about cocoon silk is not sufficient
to infer clear knowledge about the hosting tree for the earliest silk of this tract. The
traditional relation between the Put;tqras and silk rearing and the evidence of making
Barapalu cocoon silk prior to the time of European c~mpany's a entry by implication
may mean that North Bengal yielded silk since the Put;t<,lras occupied it. In the
50 N. G. Mukerji has given excerpts from Bernier.- N. G. Mukerji, A Monograph on the Silk Fabrics of Bengal, 60-6L · 51 Ibid, 16. ; 52 Ibid, 8. 53 N. G. Mukerji, Handbook of Sericulture, !55. 54 G. Watt, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, Vol. 6, PT. !fl. (Cosmo Publications), Delhi, first published in 1889, 2"d rep. 1972. N. G. Mukerji 55 A column by Arabinda Bhattacharya in the Anandabazar Patrika, on 22. 02. 1996. 56 Sal has a great distribution area in the altitude of 10-IOOOm in the Himalayan belt.- K. C. Salmi, The Book of Indian Trees, (OUP, Bombay National History Society), 1998, 34. Golden or Yellow Champaka grows in the whole belt of eastern sub-Himalayas from Nepal to Arunachal Pradesh, Naga
117
settlement history we have seen that there was a probability of the Pur;9ra people's
inhabiting in the Purnea district, which is known for silk production in the late
medieval period. It appears that the tradition of fine silk spread from North Bengal to
other districts of Bengal. Let us now see what the earliest sources say about the textile
ofNorth Bengal, which, would be to some extent a repetition of the same in chapter I.
J Early Texts about the Textile Industry of Pundravardhana
The Pundra country as we saw above was known from the days of the r- ••
Arthasastra as producing fine textile products (2.11 ). The reference of these products
in the Arthasastra magnifies the importance as these are included as the best of
prevalent commodities within and outside the Maurya en?pire. The description implies
that all these had a good transaction in the :rviagadha empire. We got the names of
three places known for their dukula and patronfa type of textiles. Pul).~ra country's
dukula was of dark colour and its smoothness is compared with a gem. 57 Oth.er two
places mentioned in this text to produce dukitla are Variga (of white colour) and
Suvarnakudya (in Assam,58 which produced sun colour dukula). Dukula has been . . accepted as very fine cloth. After its description the Arthasastra says that by it is
explained the kshauma from Ka~i and the Puqqras. It may mean that dukula was also
known as kshauma in Kasi and in the land of the Pul)~ras. Kshauma is explained as
linen from jute as well as silk.59 Reference to dukula is found again in the
Harshacharita of the ih century.60 The expression, however, puts it perhaps as silk
dukula-pa,tta 61 of fine quality. It was of white colour. The garment made was cut off
from a long roll of silk cloth. The next cloth in the Arthasastra is patror!zii, which
implies that the thread came from cocoons reared on leaves.62 The Artha~astra
mentioned the following trees as the sources of patror~Ja- naga (Masua Roxburghii
Hills, Myanmar and the Western Ghats at 500-1500 m. altitude. White Champaka grows in higher altitude between 1500-24000 m,. hence out of our purview. -Ibid, 18-19. 57 R. P. Kangle, Kau{il(ya Arthasastra, Vol. II, I 04. 58 Suvarnakudrya has been located in Kashmir also. It 'was subsequently changed to Kamasuvama, which includes Murshidabad and Rajmahal in Bengal'. -Ibid, I 04, f.n. I 02. 59 Sansad Bangia Abhidhan, Sahitya Sansad, Calcutta, rev, & enl. third Edition, rep. 1979. In a separate study we get some local terms for kshauma like khauma, khemi, khani or khaiya. This kind of cloth made from fibre is found worn by the poorer section of people in present times. There is, however, a better quality known as naiad khemi.-T. C. Dasgupta, Aspects of Bengali Society from Old Bengali Literature, (University of Calcutta), 1935, 279. 60 P. V. Kane, (ed.), The Harshacharita ofBcuwbhatta: Text ofUchchhvasas-VJ/1, 182. 61 Palla has been mentioned in a number. of e~rly works. It got basically two meanings in the Dictionary of M. M. Williams. It stood for fine cloth as well as woven silk. 62 Patror~Ja is a conjunct of patra (leaf)+ Ttr~1a (thread).
118
or Rottlera Tinctoria?), likucha (Artocarpus Lacucha), baku/a (Mimasops Elingi) and
ba{a (Ficus Indica).- 2.11. The commentator of the 1-Jarshacharita mentioned
/akucha and bata as the source of patrornZi.63 But today we meet a different list of . . trees which feed silk-worms, which we mentioned above. The interesting th~l_g~ that
the RZimacharita (chapter III) mentions all the first three trees as to be f()U.!_ld in
Varendri' (Pundrvardhana) but it never associates these with silk production. We may .. . -~
remember that the same text mentions a.fana and champaka trees (chapter III) also in
the description of vegetation. These are important feeding trees for Tasar cocoons in
modern time. But these also were not connected with silk of Bengal in the
Ramacharita.
The term pa,tza in dukilla-pa[~a in the 1-Jarshcharita reminds us the other two
type of silk putta or puttany mentioned in the Company's record. The word_pat
referring to silk is in use 'in some parts of Bengal and Assam'.64 Actually in standard
Bengali the tenn pa,t{a still is current for silk. The dukula-pa_tt~ in the Harshacharita
indicates fine reeled silk. The context in which it is mentioned confirms its quality.
Besides, it confirms that dukUla found way to northern India still in the ih century.
We should mention that during the ih century this is the sole 'reference to the textile
products of a particular region of India' 65 by which a pair of garments were made.
The same cloth perhaps found way to Tamilakam also. We came to know that the
Tamil sources mentioned pattu which were brought from outside. It is told that
'such references do not indicate the direction or region from which it came to
Tamilakam'. The probable origin is sought in China from where it came to Ganga
valley and thence to the south. 66 We see, on the contrary, that the very term pattu
contains a clue to its origin. As certain types of Bengal silk were called putta or
puttany and as its reformed term patta (in dialects which is perhaps called pat) still in
use in Bengal it may be concluded that it came from Nmih Bengal. Assam also shares
a good reputation from early historical times as a producer of good silk. Its Muga silk
enjoys reputation from early times. And we see that Assam'a Muga is of better quality
than that of North Bengal. Hence Assam might have been a probable land for pattu
importation in Tamilikam. North Bengal's link appears to have been more probable
(•J A. Chattopadhyaya, 'Some Crafts of Ancient Bengal (Textile)', in B. D. Chattopadhaya, 132. 64 N. G. Mukerji, A Monograph on the Silk Fabrics of Bengal. 8-9. ('
5 I. Habib and F. Habib, Economic Map OJ India, 182. (•(• R. Champakalakshmi, Trade. ldeologv and Urbanization-South India 300 BC to AD 1300, (OUP), Delhi, 1996, 81.
119
because of the evidence of its export of silk to other regions as we mentioned above
and existence of certain types of silk known as putta or puttany as the English East
India Company's record of the I i 11 century shows. It appears that the advent of
European companies effected a sudden swelling in the silk trade of Bengal, which
earlier was confined basically to interregional trade within India. In the early historic
phase it might have earned good money till India enjoyed a favourable trade with
Byzantine Empire.67 Its decline, however, did not affect silk production of North
Bengal. Banabhatta's reference to dukula-patta shows its inter-regional trade was .. going well in the i 11 century. Later in medieval time we see Bengal supplied high
value textiles to Delhi also.68 We already referred to North Bengal's Tasar (tatband),
which was sent to Delhi.
The Arthafatra did not mention Pm1qra as a producer of fine cotton fabric.
From later accounts it appears that Puf!c,fravardhana produced some good quality
cotton textile also. Here we may mention that HudUd al~Alam (AD 982) 69 referred to
the territory of bharmapala (Dhaum) where cotton was produced in large quantity,
'which (grows) on trees yielding their produce during many years'. The good quality . of North Bengal's cotton textile is perhaps indicated in a foreign source of the 91
h
century. The Arab geographer Ibn Khurdadbhih in 851 wrote about the 'unparalleled
beauty and fineness' of the cotton textile made in the Pala kingdom.70 That North
Bengal really cultivated cotton in medieval period is proved by the account of F. B.
Hamilton. He says that the quality of cotton raised in the end of wet season and in the
southeast part of Dinajpur is finer than the one 'imported from west of India' .71 This
also needs high land of stiff as well as free soil. As Puqqravardhana has a tradition of
cotton growing and it formed an important segment of Pala kingdom we may suppose
that the foreign sources spoke of Puqc,frvardhana's textile. Arab merchants started to
visit Samata!a at about the same time or a little earlier. Some of them even perhaps
67 We learnt how the volume of silk exp~rt from Bengal decreased first by the decline of Roman empire and then enactment of Justinian law in the first halfofthe 61
h century. At last introduction of silkworms from China solved a long standing problem in the Byzantine empire.-R. S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism: C. A. D. 300-1200, (Macmilan India Ltd.), Madras, second edition, rep. I 996, 54. 68 Rajat Datta, 'Market, Bullion and Bengal's Commercial Economy'. 330. 69 V. Minorsky (tr.), Hudud al-A/am, The Regions of the World, A Persian Geography, 372 A. H.-982 A. D., London, I937, 87. 70 See Richard M. Eaton, The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204- I 760, (OUP), Delhi, 1994, II. 71 Eastern India, Voi. 3, 853.
120
started residing in this part. This new development in this area is coincided with the
rule of the Chandra kings (AD 825-1 035).
Vegetation
It is observed that Rangpur recently lost much of its climatic features of sub
tropical country. Northern part of Dinajpur keeps a parallel with its neighbour
Rangpur in fc..:estry, vegetation and fauna. It lies adjacent to the tropics. 72 The
climatic difference in the north and south of North Bengal influenced its flora and
fauna. Once its northern part also had a vast forest stretching across Jalpaiguri up to
the Himalayas. The area once had been a natural habitat for elephants as we
mentioned in the textual chapter citing from district gazetteers and Eastern India. The
District Gazetteers of Rangpur and Dinajpur73 show the common vegetation 111
Rangpur and Dinajpur includes among others sal (Shorea Robusta); (Golden or
yellow) champak (Michelia Champaca or Magnolia); banyan (Ficus Indica); pipal
(Ficus Religiosa) baku! (Mimusops Elengi); varied types of bamboo, which is typical
of this part; 74 and varied types of reeds from which different useful goods are made.
We may remember here that Tasar cocoons are reared on sal and Muga on champak.
Rangpur also cultivates tezpata ( Cinnamomum Tamala, tamalapatra in Sanskrit) or
Indian cassia.
Tezpata or Malabathram
Here we may say some words about Rangpur tezpata. This particular produce
of the past is mentioned in the Greek sources as malabathram, which formed a part of
export to the west. Its leaves, is used to add aroma to food. Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea (AD 70-80) 75 states that these were brought to sell by men called Besatae of
72 Northern parts of both districts share some of the tropical trees found up to 1500 m. Some of the typical trees of this part are sal, red silk cotton (Bombyx Ceiba), kadam (Anthocephalus Sinensis), elephant apple (Dillenia Indica), gamari (Gmelina Arborea), Golden or yellow champak, etc. Both the districts lost much of their original vegetation due to climatic change. 73 J. A. Vas, Gazetteer of the Rangpur District, I I -15 and F. W. Strong, Eastern Bengal District Gazetteers, Gazetteer of the Dinajpur District, Allahabad, (The Pioneer Press), 1912, 8-13. 74 This is basically a tropical and sub-tropical tree. Of the most common genera are Bambusa, A rundinaria and Dendrocalamus. The last and Melocanna baccifera are spread over in north-eastern India.- K. C. Sahni, The Book of Indian Trees, 191-92; and, S. L. Kochhar, Economic Botany in the Tropics, 380-81. 75 For the translation of the Periplus see Wilfred H. Schoff, (tr.), The Periplus of the E!ythraean Sea, (Munshiram Manoharlal publishers pvt. Ltd.), 1995, 48-49.
12 I
squat figure and flat face. Ptolem/6 speaks of Kirata land (Kirradia) where the best
malabathram was produced. Perhaps Kiratas were referred to as Cirrhadoe in the
Periplus.-The Kiratas were referred to in the Mahabharata as included in the army of
Pragyotisha (in Assam).77 These people might have lived in areas of north-eastern
India like Upper Assam and Khasi Hills where the Cinnamomum Tama!a trees
producing tezpata grows naturally.78 Its extension up to Rangpur is possible for
environmental similarity as is pointed out above. Even tezpata is grown in Tripura and
upper Myanmar at the altitude of 800-1000 m.79 The people with flat nosed and squat
figure, who were in trade of these leaves, like the Kiratas, had been of Mongoloid
stock. These people started to move from China in about the second millennium BC
and they perhaps reached the east in about 1000 BC.80 This course we mentioned in J
our discussion of the river Karatoya where we mentioned Ltat the great Bodo people
extended up to the north and east Bengal and even north Bihar. W. H. Schoff says
about the Kirata tribe who lived in Morong, west of Sikkim. They belong to the Bhota
tribe with usual Mongoloid features. Many of them lived in Bengal at the time of
Aryan expansion. 81 People known as Paliya, a division of the Koch tribe, are largely
found in West Dinajpur and Coochbehar. The language of the Koches belongs to the
'Bodo group of Tibeto-Burmese family' although it is now influenced by the Bengali
and Assamese languages. 82 The total number of Paliya people in West Bengal
according to 1981 Census is 116,819.83 Their number in Bangladeshi part of North
Bengal is not known for present day. From the census of 1931 we get a picture of
undivided Bengal. Both the Koches and Paliyas claimed to be known as Rajbangshis
(people who belong to the royal lineage), i:e. having the same origin from which the
royal family of Coochbehar sprang. Their internal contradictory claims make it
difficult to get the actual figure. The Paliyas were included amongst the Rajbangshis
in 1911 and together the Paliyas, Koches and Rajbangshis gave the figure of
76 S. N. Majumdar Sastri, (ed.), Me Crindle 's Ancient India as described by Ptolemy. Calcutta, I 927, 217. 77 K. L. Bama, Early HistOJ)I of Assam. Shillong, I 933, I. 7x K. C. Salmi, The Book of Indian Trees, 140. 79 Ibid. . 80 See also S. K. Chatterjee, Kirata-Jana-Krti, The Indo-Mongoloids: their contributions to the histo1y and culture of India, (The Asiatic Society), Calcutta, I 974, 36. 81 Wilfred H. Schoff, (tr.), The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 253. 82 K. S. Singh, The Scheduled Castes, people of India, National Series, Vol. 11, (Anthropological Survey of India), (OUP), Delhi, 1993, I 022 -23 and Idem, The Scheduled Tribe, People of India, Vol. Ill, (Anthropological Survey of India), (OUP), Delhi, 1994,541-543. X) Ibid, I 022-23.
122
I ,930,852. On account of ethnic similarity all three groups are regarded of the same
origin. Their concentration is found in Coochbehar, Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and
Rangpur. 84 By putting these references together it may be suggested that there is some
homogeneity in material activities of north-eastern India, was there any possibility to
share those by the people of same ethnic stock in the early historic times? Had these
people shared also in the trade of tezpata (malabathram) during the time of the
Periplus?
Crafts
Of the crafts the archaeological evidence presents beads and terracotta plaques
belonging chiefly to the period of 3rct century BC - AD 2nd century. NBPW continued
to be produced in this phase although with changed technological skill and new
shapes. After AD 2nd century these are also disappeared. Beads of varied materials
and shapes constitute a significant item of this phase. Gupta age shows a transitory
phase possessing residuals of previous stage of economy with some items, which
would flourish in the Pala period.
Fine and Common Wares
The best quality NBPW of Mahasthangarh according to the updated study by
D. Allios and V. Serdon was produced till level 5. We mentioned above that till level
5 fine ware shares more than 60% (f. n. 9) of the total ceramic assemblage. The share
of fine ware decreases to 20% in the level 7 with evidence of less control over firing.
In level 8 the share drops to 10%. Disappearance of fine ware corresponds to the
growing number of common ware with increasing diversity of firing techniques and
the preparation of pastes.85 Bangladesh study in the FIR includes 3218 sherds of
ceramics recovered from D8 Trench only. Out of which 2832 were studied. NBPW is
found from I to 1 I levels. The gradual replacement ofNBPW by common ware in the
upper levels is observed as a result of change in culture from pre-Maurya to Maurya
to post-Maurya and partially in technique.~6 We know the controversial issue about
~4 They spread over in considerable number in Maida, Bogra and Rajshahi districts of undivided Bengal. The Rajbangshis are struggling to obtain Kshatriya status and most of them already adopted mainstream's social norms. But still some practices are to be found amongst the 'more backward and illiterate members' which are 'inconsistent with Hindu belief ... ' A. E. Porter, Census of India, 1931, vol. V, Bengal & Sikkim, Part l, report, (central Publication Branch), Calcutta, 1933,473-75. XS Fl R, 273-293. Xi> FIR. 342-57
123
the use of NBPW in Mahasthangarh raised by S. Elaigne that these were locally
produced for everyday use, which discards the well established view about its being
luxury ware. At the same time it refutes its connection with inter-regional or
international trade (see Introduction). We may remember here that NBPW and RW
had been discovered by Rahman in sites some situating at 6.5 km distance from the
.. citadel of Mahasthangarh (see Table lA). Whatever be the nature of these fine wares
the vast quantity of both wares proves that pottery making was a good profession for
good number of families residing in Mahasthan area. The decline of NBPW
corresponded by the increase of common ware. Pottery remained an important craft
throughout. Potters are to be found as an essential part of rural Bengal.
Beads
Beads are the most important item of city phase. Of the two sites, Bangarh and
Mahasthangarh, the total number for beads is not available for the former. 87 These are
found from level 5 and almost non-existent in earlier levels. Levels 5-8 proved the
most numerous. Besides, a plenty of fragments were also found. From the studies
done by Rahman separately we get some more beads. Of the stone beads the agate is
numerous. 88 Ametheist beads are few in number. Rahman studied 336 beads of semi
precious stones.89 Although no idea is left about the numerical strength in Bangarh the
bead culture of this place corresponds to Mahasthangarh. The report of Bangarh
excavation shows that beads are found increasingly more in number and finer in
quality in the deeper layers. But contrary to Mahasthangarh K. G. Goswami found
mostly chalcedony beads.90 Here we may mention that the difference between agate
and chalcedony is related with the prominence of layers. Besides, when chalcedony is
87 In the FIR the joint study of beads by M. F. Boussac and S. A lam we get 810 beads of different ma~erials. Of 810 beads semi-precious stones are 477 (59%) and glass 328 ( 40.5%), and the rest of other materials. -FIR, 427, f. n. I. 88 313 beads of agate are registered. Carnelian amounts to 82, which is followed by chalcedony, 126 in all. 89 The assemblage includes 62 from his personal collections, 200 preserved in the Department of Archaeology and 74 in the Bangladesh National Museum. The total number of banded agate is 97. While chert beads amount to 62, carnelian 35, onyx 18 and garnet only 9.- S. S.M. Rahman, 'The Semi-precious Stone Beads from Mahasthangarh: a preliminary study,' 37-52. Hence the total number of semi-precious beads is (810+336=) 1146. 90 Although he says first that 'Cornel ian, plays a very important part' in the assemblage of beads in Bangarh in another place in the same page he states that chalcedony is the majority in globular beads, which are the most numerous in Bangarh.- K. G. Goswami, 'Excavations at Bangarh', 14.
124
uniformly red is known as carnelian.91 Perhaps this subtle difference led K. G.
Goswami to identify agate as chalcedony. Actually agate is recorded as the common
stone in all early historical sites of North India. With all these 10 etched beads are
attested m Mahasthan while these are very popular 111 Wari-Bateshwar,
Chandraketugarh and Bangarh. In addition, several glass beads are also reported. 92
France-Bangladesh excavation and Rahman's own exploration in Mahasthan
region exposed a good ql!~i,,tity of cores and chips and flakes of crystal, agate, jasper
and marble. The trial digging in Wari-Batcshwar also revealed raw materials in good
number. Both places, therefore, are accepted as having bead manufacturing centres.
Chandraketugarh, according to D. K. Chakrabarti, had manufacturing centre at least
for agate and carnelian.93 Chhotanagpur is a rich area for mineral resources. Besides,
there are a number of places in different parts of India, which could have been the
sources of raw materials for semi-precious stone beads for Bengal. Probable sources
for different kinds of beads the following can be mentioned. Agate- Ratanpur in
Rajpipla in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and the Deccan Trapes. Garnet -Rajasthan.
Quartz-Mostly in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. Marble-best quality came
from Rajasthan.94 It is argued that glass beads in Bengal were imported from outside.
The probable places are Arikamedu (Indo Pacific glass beads), Middle East/Roman
world (sandwitched glass beads), and Deccan/Roman world (gold-foil glass beads).95
Terracotta Plaques
Study of the terracotta plaques and other objects in Mahasthangarh is not yet
complete in all aspects. Studies on Bengal terracotta as a whole and on particular sites
like Chandraketugarh and Bangarh suggest that these were intimately connected with
91 'Common chalcedony ... has very thin layers of hydrated and cryptocrystalline silica. When such layers are prominent and concentric or wavy, the material is known as agate.'- A. K. Biswas, Minerals and Metals of Ancient !ndia, Vol. 2, (D. K. Print World (P) Ltd.), New Delhi, 98-99. 92 328 glass beads are discovered by the France-Bangladesh excavation. We will add 25 more collected and studied separately by Rahman. These raises the figure of glass beads to (328+25=) 353. 93 D. K. Chakrabarti, The Issue in East indian Archaeology, (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.), New Delhi, 1998,40. 94 References for all are from A. Ghosh, (ed.), An Encyclopedia of fndian Archaeology, Vol. I, (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.), Delhi, 1989, 216-221; Coggin-Brown and Dey, India's mineral Wealth, London, 1955; B. Allchin, 'The Agate and Carnelian Industry of Western India and Pakistan,' in Van L.Leeuw, (ed.), South Asian Archaeology, Leiden, 1975; M.S. Krishnan, Geology of India and Bunna, (Higginbothams (p)Ltd.), Madras, 1968; D. N. Wadi a, Geology of India, (Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co.), New Delhi, 1975 and Idem, Minerals of India, (National Book Trust), New Delhi, 1966. 95 K. K. Basa, 'Early Glass Beads in India', SAS. Vol. 8, 1992,91-104.
125
urban culture.96 The stratigraphic evidence of moulded plaques from the recent
excavation of Mahasthangarh97 proves that the most prolific stage corresponds to the
most prosperous material levels of the city. The noteworthy point is the technical
maturity displayed even in the earliest pieces from level 5. The terracotta work
definitely offered a good occupation for a certain section of society. The terracotta
plaques are the exquisite specimens of art of Bengal.
Weaving
Of the other occupation it appears that weaving cotton cloth held an important
place. We may mention here about the discovery of numerous terracotta spindle
whorls from Bangarh from the Suri.ga period stratum. 98 We above noted that the -......
Hudiid af-Alam and the account of Ibn Khurdadbhih say about fine cotton t~xtiles of
the Pala kingdom. We cited F. B. Hamilton above about raising cotton in
Pundravardhana. Weavers of this sub-region perhaps used the homegrown cotton for
weaving cloth.
Some Other Professions
Making Tiles, Bricks, Masonry
Some individuals must have grown skill in making building materials like tiles
and bricks. From the Sunga period tiles started to be used in roofing both in
Mahasthangarh and Bangarh. So is the case ofbricks. We will encounter growing use
of bricks for subsequent times.
Sculpting
The repertoire of archaeological remains shows significant decline in beads
and terracotta plaques during the imperial Gupta times while it includes a few stone
sculptures. The previous phase brings only a single piece of Karttikeya (AD.l/2nd
96 Here we may point out the observation regarding Chandraketugarh.- D. K. Chakrabarti, Archaeological Geography of the Ganga Plain, 273. And yet another by E. Haque in relation to Chandraketugarh terracotta. He found it somewhat incredible to include those found in Chandraketugarh within the fold of 'folk art'. The scenes employed in plaques clearly depict urban life. Beside, the quality of portability of these objects shows that these were produced to cater the demand of 'individual connoisseur or votary.'- E. Haque, Chandraketugarh: A Treasure house of Bengal Terracotta, 79. 97 The article dealing with the chronological context of the moulded terracotta plaques states about 135 pieces (from the Maurya to the Gupta) discovered from the eastern rampart. Levels 7-8 yielded the most. After 2"d century these plaques are mostly of residual nature till the upper layers. -M. F. Boussac & Sandrine Gill, 'Moulded Terraeotta Plaques from Mahasthan', JBA, Vol. 6, 2001, 65-72. 9x K. G. Goswami, 'Excavations at Bangarh', 37.
126
century) found from Skander Dhap in Mahasthan region and now preserved in the
AM. From AD 4th to 6th centuries we find some more. The beginning of the
prosperous phase of sculpture actually will start from the 7/8 111 century. We are not
sure whether the Gupta age images were brought from outside or locally sculpted.
Here we see a gradual emergence of a new practice vis-a-vis a profession. The Pala
age is the most prolific in image making. The sculptor produced some all time best
pieces in the art heritage of this world. This period revealed a very prosperous phase
in the material life by all excavations. 1t is implicit in the remains of buildings and
other objects found in different sites. Of the remains the images constitute a very
important aspect for the history of this period. Land donation never ceased its appeal
as merit earning act but now image installation was recognised as another means for
earning merit. As it was less costly than land donation it could attract much more
donees. In spite of its less cost facility the practice of image donation must have been
confined to a certain section of well being class. However, the new trend gradually
developed a new class of professionals, the sculptors. We are completely in the dark
about the identity of the hundreds of skilful sculptors, who are boasted unflinchingly
by all art critics, for creating some masterful images, for generations. Unlike the
engravers of epigraphs they did not develop a practice of leaving their names on their
creations. Recently a single artist's name is salvaged from thousands of images. G.
Bhattacharya traced out one sculptor, Amrta by name, who boasted himself as a good
artist (sus~lpi). He found two images where the name of Amrta is engraved. The third
one in VRM collection appears to have been the creation of the same Amrta. 99 There
must have been many more pieces of this great artist who boldly engraved his name
breaking away from the general norm. As the pieces show spatial homogeneity (two
came respectively from Rajshahi and Bogra) it appears that this Amrta was a native of
North Bengal more precisely of the area now covered by the Rajshahi-Bogra districts.
The bluish stone used by him is described as susnigdha indranT!amalJi i.e. it is as
smooth as the saphire. The same term is used for the Bhaturiya inscription of
Rajyapala ( cir. AD 91 I -35) in line 20. 100 This particular stone is known as Rajmahal
slate.
By the time of the Pala kings there arose certain centres where images were
sculpted. Many unfinished images arc attested in different places. E. g. we may cite
99 Sec the Appendix Ill for images with inscriptions nos. 15, 16 and I 7. 100 D. C. Sircar, 'Bhaturiya Inscription of Rajyapala'. 150-54.
127
that from Amati, D. Dinajpur five unfinished images arc recovered which arc now
lodged in the BCM. Another centre might have been in the vicinity of Dacca. 101
Engraving
A special group grew perfection in engraving. It remained confined to a small
number of skilled scribes as there were not many chances of such works. But there
was demand for efficient engravers. Pala records show that a village named Poshali
produced at least three engravers. The Belwa copperplate of Mahipala I was engraved
by Pushyaditya, son of Chandraditya, the Bangarh plate of the same king by
Mahldhara, son of Vikramaditya and the Amgachhi plate of Vigra"pala III by
Sa£ideva, son of Mahldhara. It shows that Sasideva and Mahidhara were from same
family the latter being the father of the former. On the other hand, Chandraditya and
Vikramaditya perhaps also related to each other. It appears that this village was within
Kotivarsha vishaya and not far from Panchnagan vishaya. However, we got another
name of village which might have been ~ncient Poshalf. D. C. Sircar102 mentions the
opinion of N. N. Basu that Poshali might have been the Poshaligarti in the Raqhfya
Brahmal}aS. It is present Poshela, 5 miles south-east of Mangalkot in the Burdwan
district.
Fishing
This period shows that fishing became an important occupation. Numerous
sites of early medieval time are registered with net sinkers (see table ID for such
sites). The Kaivartas in the beginning had been a fishing community. 103 A section
later took plough as occupation. We got a village called Osinna the inhabitants of
which were engaged in kaivartavrtti. 104 As there were separate terms for cultivators,
e.g. kufumbi, it appears that the village ofOsinna was settled only by fishermen. It is a
rare case for a village inhabited by a single community. Motifs of fish and fisherman
are found depicted on terracotta objects of this period. 105 The Charyapadas, products
of the siddhacharyas of Bengal from the 7 /81h centuries, are regarded as revealing for
101 P. K. Bhattacharya, Iconography of Sculptures, Akshay Kumar Maitreya Museum, (University of North Bengal), Darjeeling, 1983, I. 102 D. C. Sircar, 'Two Pala Plates from Belwa', 6. 103 Idem, Problems of Early Indian Society, (Sanskrit College), Calcutta, 1983, 73. 104 ldem, 'Two Pala Plates from Belwa', l-13. 105 We may remember examples of a terracotta plaque bearing a fishing scene from Bangarh, -K. G. Goswami, 'Excavations at Bangarh', 22 (It is now preserved in the AM, Almirah (Ph 115) bottom self, cat.no.21 0); three copper coins from Paharpur with fish motif, Gourisankar De, 'Fish Motif in Bengal Art',JBA, Vol.3, 1998, 103;etc.
128
the lowest section of the rural society. We meet people engaged in hunting, fishing,
cotton-spinning, basket weaving, etc. 106
Trade and Commerce
Evidence of the thriving activities 111 trade and commerce of the Maurya
Sunga time gradually faded away. The French team found sharp decline in the
material life for levels 12 and 13 in Mahasthangarh corresponding to the Gupta age. 107
A change is found in the roofing system, having no trace of tiles. Probably 'light and
perishable materials' were in use for this purpose. This stage thus poses a significant
discrepancy to what was revealed by the epigraphs of this period in North Beng~l and
many more other sources in north India from the Gupta period. However, a cautious
observation also is found, which prompts to tell that the mere amount of objects
should not lead one to be critical of the prosperity of this phase. Besides, this phase
shows lasting duration than the previous one. On the basis of excavation in a
. d . I I f restncte area representmg ess than -- o the walled area one cannot measure the 750
real material level of the age. 108 Actually level 12 of the Bangladesh side exhibits 'a
substantial amount of architectural remains'. 109 In addition, outside the citadel we
confront some considerable buildings and other constructions. We may remember
here that earlier excavations of 1960-61 revealed remains of well built brick structures
pertaining to the Sunga and Gupta ages. 110 The Bairagir Bhita exposed remains of
temples of the Gupta and post Gupta age. 111 The Govinda Bhita112 exposes exist~ce
of numerous structures of large size in the west and east parts. It spread over a wide
chronological range from the Gupta to the Muslim periods. Constructions of the 61h
century are found within a massive walled area (belonging to 8111 /9111 century) in the
)
106 A. Majumdar, Chmyapadas, (Naya Prakash), Calcutta, 1967,77. 107 These two levels are placed within the period of end of AD 2nd- end of 6'" century. lOS FIR, 141-150. 109 FIR 201 110 N. Ahma.d, Mahasthan, 33. 111 A. K. M. Zakaria, Bangladesher Pratnasampad, 180-181 112 According to the Karatoyamahatmya the northern limit of the city of Mahasthangarh was marked off by a Vishnu temple. This site is supposed to contain that temple as Vishnu's another name is Govinda. Although the temple complex is generally accepted to have been that of the god Vishnu or Govinda no Image of this god has been discovered so far.
129
western part. And interestingly in a presumably later article 113 co-authored by J. F.
Salles the earlier opinion regarding the barren material life of this period had been
chaQged. 114 Here we get an impression that the nature of the objects and structure with
'strong symbolic connotation' exposed in the Gupta levels rendered the poor look of
this phase.
It is true that a change took place in trade and commerce. We did not find the
same objects associated with previous phase. This is especially true with beads and
NBPW. When we encounter another type of evidence throwing some light on the
early Gupta period the earlier phase is no longer reflected. We get 10 epigraphs from
our sub-region belonging to the Gupta period. All deal with land transactions. But
interestingly in four of these we meet the fresh~h'ls, sarthavahas and kulikas, all )
essentially belonging to trading class, to be associated with the vishaya ailhikarana
(administrative centre or office) of Kot.ivarsha. 115 Whatever capacity they were
enjoying in the adhikara'!a (they were not regular officials) there would be no doubt
that these trading communities flocked in the cities where they were counted as within
the uppermost section of society. This they earned by their wealth, which came from
commercial activities. Their inclusion in the adhikara'!a in representative capacity
while the procedure of land transfer was taking place is a pointer that still trade had
some prospects. When and how they became an integrated part of the urban milieu is
not known. Perhaps in them we may find the vestiges of earlier trading communities
of Maurya and Sm1ga age. The sarthavahas are known to have been carrying goods
loaded carts to far off places. But we do not have any information about either the
goods they took or the places they went for trade. From the above discussions we may
presume that Puf).qravardhana continued trade with its traditional products like paddy,
sugarcane, textile, tezpata, etc. These might have been exported to other regions
within India even some to the south-east Asian countries. This age found for the first
time an exchange system through the medium of the gold and silver coins, the dinZira
and rupaka respectively. The trading contact of Pala period is not very clear to us.
113 This article by J. Y. Breuil & J. F. Salles, 'Excavations at Mahasthangarh,' has been published in the JBA of 200 I, i.e. in the same year when the FIR was published. But the revised views in this article we encounter on different issues and what we mentioned above tend to indicate that it was published after the FIR or underwent modification as it incorporated another author's view. 114 Ibid, 85-87. 115 Damodarpur copperplates of AD 444, 448, the undated one during the time of Budhagupta and of AD 554. were issued from the vishayadhikarana located in the city of Kotivarsha. The Paharpur inscription of AD 479 includes only one nagarasreshthi. Here the city might have the one in Mahasthangarh.
130
There is a high probability of trade in textile products during the time of the_Pal_~
kings, which went as far as Chittagong as may be inferred from the contemporary
Arab accounts (see supra). There was regular contact with countries where Buddhism
became an important creed. Hence some sort of exchange network at extra regional
level cannot be excluded. Rice might have been another item for trade. There is a
possibility that commodities went down the rivers to the mouth from there these were
taken up to Chittagong port called samandar by the Arab geographers. In the cast
things were taken down stream Ganga. Below we will focus on the possible routes
through different periods.
Linkages and Routes
Northern Connections
Pundravardhana's integration with Magadha system paved the way for
systematisation of communication for smooth transit of home products and some
other countries to its north and cast. Of the northern countries with which
Pu11qravardhana could have some trading contacts the name of Tibet peeped in many
writings. Its possible earliest indication is found in the description of the Periplus
(AD. 70-80) that Chinese (Thinae 116) materials were brought to Damirica by way of
the river Ganga. Ptolemy's reference to Tibetan plateau is another pointer to a
northern route from North Bengal. But its feasibility has been questioned. 117
Notwithstanding the difficulties of outward impassability of this vast and rugged hilly
track there were certain natural line of communication, which should have been active
since the earliest times. We get plenty of information about the linkages with this land
which seems to be in operation from the early historical times. The Tabaqi1{-i
Nasiri118 speaks of 35 passes between Tibet and Kamari1pa. It informs about the
J bringing of Tibetan (Tanghan) horses through the above mentioned passes to
LakshmaQavafi (Lakhnauti). These horses were brought in the market of Kara-battan
(Kar-pattan), where about I 500 horses were sold everyday. The exchange network in
this belt sometimes brought traders from far off. This system in some form can be
116 We meet some alternatives also. It is identified with Theinini perhaps in the Salween valley in Burma and with Changan, the capital ofTsin and the Western Han dynasties. -N. Lahiri, The Archaeology of Indian Trade Routes, 151. 117 !hid, 150-54. 11 x H. G. Raverty, (tr.), Tahakat-i-Nasiri, Vol. I, 567.
131
visible even from present day situation. Owing to very slow pace of change in tribal
life many of the old behavioural patterns and practices may be found today. Hence the
exchange system followed in certain pockets amongst the tribals in the hilly area still
today may be regarded as coming down through centuries. For everyday life hilly
people need correspondence with their fellows in plains. Their need sometimes is
small but unavnic!able. People in plains also look to them for certain products, which .,
could not be available in the neighbourhood. We come across reports of'fairs held in
recent past (perhaps some such are still held) where large transactions took place.
Traders brought goods sometimes crossing vast track even from north-western India.
Some such big fairs in the northern parts of Bihar and Bengal were very much active
even in the middle of last century. At least one such fair found mention in the map of
Major Sherwill, which was held in Nekmarad in the Ranishankail P. S. Here traders
from near and far met. Among the buyers we find big landlords and zamindars who
would buy horses from Bhutan and elephants from Terai. Cows from Purnea were
bought by the middlemen of Mymansingh and Srihatta districts of Bengal. Even
camels with loaded goods came from north-western India. Afghans brought dry fruits,
sadlery, daggers, swords, mirrors etc., hilly people came with woollen garments,
blanket, ponny, and other things, Nepalese brought daggers and medicinal herbs, etc.
W. W. Hunter119 informs that the fair went on for one week and one lack people every
year gathered here. Hilly people bought real and artificial coral and pearl beads from
the Dinajpur traders. N. Ray 120 informs that 25 miles right north after crossing the
Brahmaputra at Gauhati there is held a fair on the full moon day in the month of
Vaishakh (April-May). Here Tibetans bring horses, blankets, sheep, and some other
things. Still today pack horses, blankets, ornaments of impure gold, different types of
stones, etc., which are found in the markets of Gangtok and Kalimpong are mostly
from Tibet and Bhutan. One more report about such trade between Assam and Tibet is
worth citing. 'Tibet caravans conducted by 20 persons used to come down annually to
a mart of Chouna on the Assam border after two months journey from Lassa and
conveyed silver bullion to the amount of about one lakh rupees and a considerable
quantity of salt for sale to the Assam merchants at Geegunshur four miles away.' Here
it is told that 'skins, buffalo horns, pearls, and corals first imported from Bengal were
traded by the Assamese merchants. The Tibetan merchants brought woolens, gold
119 References are taken from A. K. M. Zakaria, Bangladesher Pratnasampad, 51-52. 120 N. Ray, Bagalirltilws, 95.
132
dust, salt, musk, horses, Chinese silk, etc.' 121 We found above that corals and pearls
were mentioned as being brought for sale in the mart of Nekmarad by Dinajpur
traders. In this report we find mention of corals and pearls with others which were
imported from Bengal. There is a high probability that in this case also Dinajpur
district of Bengal actually supplied these items through their merchants.
In a recent study sufficient light has been thrown on the Tibet-Brahmaputra
and Tibet- Arunachal Pradesh trade through ~rincipal and minor routes. The activity
of trade routes in north-eastern region has been highlighted till the British period
when steps were taken from time to time to close these. Here we get information
about various items of goods brought by the peoples of hilly tracts of Tibet,
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, etc. A very important information is found about iron,
which was 'manufactured in the hills and exported in the shape of hoes to the Assam
valley and in lumps of pig iron to the Surma valley ... ' It was used for making clamps
of boats. The quantity of such iron exported from hills in 1853 is 20,000 mounds. 122
The route proceeded through Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, Chumbi Valley of Sikkim, and
the passes of the Himalayas to Tibet and finally to south China. Focus on this route is
thrown in the recent work of D. K. Chakrabarti. He narrated it following the
description of Campbell. Tibet can be reached through Chumbi Valley as well as
through Bhutan. However, the route via Chumbi Valley is much· frequented. The
principal route through Chumbi Valley can be reached from Darjeeling as well as
from Nepal. Most interesting point is that in this long route of a few hundred miles we
find the river Tista as forming a part. One has to cross first the Rangit and then to
follow the course of the Tista upstream for a certain distance. After Chumbi Valley
will come Phari where a mart is to be found. Here people coming from Sikkim, Nepal,
Bhutan and Tibet meet to exchange their products. Another place of transaction is a
town called Rinchingong, which is also a mart and which is situated 2 marches 123 east
of Chumbi. Here exchange network was confined amongst the people from Sikkim,
Bhutan and Tibet. But the most important is the information about borax and gold of
Tibet. Borax was available in Tibet throughout to the south of the river
Yaroo/Tsangpo. It came down to India through Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan and then to
121 A. Mackenzie, The North-East Frontier of India, rep. Delhi, 1981, 64. This is an excerpt from Hamilton who mentioned a report by Premberton. 122 B. B. Kumar, 'The Trade in North-East India: The Historical Perspective', 5-8. 123 The equation between marches and miles is not clear.
133
Europe. Gold was available 'in the sands of a feeder river of the Yaroo'. Not least
important is the information of another fair in Titaliya near Jalpaiguri. Here Campbell
found a group of Tibetans, formed by men, women, and children with 30 baggage
sheep and goats, advancing toward that fair. The merchandise they were carrying
included 'musk, chowrees, salt, blankets, turquoise and striped woollens'. Yaks and
sheep were used as packing animals for carrying salt from salt lakes of Tibet. D. K.
Chakrabarti provides another important list of metallic resources of this region
originally mentioned by J. C. White and V. Ball. Metals like 'iron, tin, Zinc, arsenic,
lead, gold and silver, copper' were largely available and used 'by preindustrial
smelters'. We may remember here that an iron-smelting centre has been ascertained in
or around Wari-Bateshwar. 124 Its source might have been in this locality. A belt of
copper lies 'around Buxa on the India-Bhutan border where V. Ball (1881) repot'~ed
extensive preindustrial smelting'. The technology they used for this purpose was very
simple.
For political interaction between Tibet and Bengal the beginning was traced in
the expedition of Srong-tsan-gampo. The period of Pala rule has been viewed as a
phase of intensification of the religious interaction. But economic interaction between
these places might have been a factor of still earlier. 125 Here one more point may be
considered. Here we may find a linkage in the Neolithic tools in Kalimpong in
Darjeeling district and Sikkim what we mentioned above. Affinity in the beliefs and
practices between South China and Kalimpong and Sikkim together126 actually
indicates probabilities of connections between Pundravardhana and south China
through northern routes via Tibet. What we want is to point to the fact that there were
certain natural routes, which were in use from the remote past, some of which were
perhaps regularised after imperial occupation of North Bengal.
Eastern Routes
Less controversial was the eastern route through Assam, North Burma, etc. to
China. The route is less difficult than those discussed above. We already mentioned
some important items of Assam (Suvan~aku~ya) in common with North Bengal
124 E. Haque, (ed.), Excavations at Wari-Bateshwar: A Preliminary Study, SEAS: No. 5, (ICSBA), Dhaka, 200 I, 33. 125 D. K. Chakrabarti, Archaeological Geography oft he Ganga Plain, 63-64. 126 A. Datta, Neolithic Culture of West Bengal, 62-65.
134
(PuQqra country), which must have found way in the famous urban centres of
Gangetic valley. The Arthafastra in the same chapter (2. II) mentions certain other
places (Jonga, Japa, Turupa, etc.) for certain goods like sandalwood 127, black aloe,
tailaparf}ika (a kind of incense), bhadrafriya (camphor?) and others. The places,
which grew these are located in a part of north-eastern India including Assam
(Suvarnakudya, which produced tailaparf}ika, besides patron;a- and dukit!a). m, The
Arthdastra in relation to textile products lastly takes the name of China. We came to
know that China produced silk (kau.~eya) and silk cloth (chinapa{tp). The point is that
Kau~ilya takes goods name in geographical sequence, putting all places one after
other, which arc located to the east and north-east of Magadha. The name of China,
which occurred at the end, appears to have entered in the Artha~astra as silk used to
come to the Gangetic Valley from this land also along with Assam and North Bengal.
Most of the goods of north-eastern India which are described in the Artha~astra were
confined to inter-regional trade except perhaps the textiles. Keeping in view of the
Indo-Roman trade some of the best textile products of this part may be considered as
forming a part of export. In this regard we may remember that all goods described as
Gangetic (like spikenard and malabathram of the Periplus) to be exported to the
Roman Empire were not really the products of the Ganga delta. If there is any relation
between Gangetic muslin (sindones) of the Periplus and dukula of Vanga (referred to
in the Arthdastra as producer of dukula along with Puqqra and Suvarqakuqya) we
may conclude that Assam and North Bengal's dukula could well have been included
within the Gangetic muslin. It thus appears that the route from Magadha across North
Bengal, Assam, etc. up to south China was more in use than the one through Tibet in
the early historic time. P. C. Bagchi first described it elaborately 129 and then by many.
The route went directly from Pataliputra, across Bhagalpur, Rajmahal, North Bengal
to Assam after which it was trifurcated. One went through Patkoi range to upper
Burma, the second ran through Manipur to Irrawaddy valley and the third through
127 Sandalwood (Santalum Album) is not the original plant of northeast. Today it is found from 'Nasik to Northern Circars southwards'. It is believed to have been indigenous to south-western India. Some thinks it is a native of peninsular india. - S. L. Kochhar, Economic Botany in the Tropics, 4 73 and K. C. Sahn i, The Book of Indian Trees, 144. m Chilrarekha Gupta has dealt separately about the trade and trading items of northeast in ancient period in Chitrarekha Gupta, 'Trade and Markets of North-Eastern India: The Ancient Period', in J.P. Singh and G. Sengupta (eels.), Archaeology of'North-Eastern India, (Vikash Publishing House), Delhi, 1991' 280-299. 129 P. C. Bagchi, India and China-a thousand years of Sino-Indian Cultured Contact, (China Press Ltd.), Calcutta, 1944, 5-6.
135
Arakan to Chindwin valley. All met at Bhamo on the border of Burma (we cited about
this route in chapter II). This route was perhaps in use since the days of Chang Kien
whose report of 130 BC referred to bamboo cane and cloth of South China in Ta-hsia
(Bactria). Acquaintance of the Artha;astra with China silk appears to support the so
early date of the use of this route. D. K. Chakrabarti once again pointed out the
mineral resources inJhis part from the accounts ofL. W. Shakespear (1914) based on
contemporary and recent past situation. We know that of the three routes the most
accessible is the Patkoi-Hukong-Bhamo route. Its attraction is doubly increased by its
having mineral resources in certain places. Amber and jade are available in mines
situated in the tract between Hukong Valley and Mogoung. The latter lies 'between
Bhamo and Myikhiyna in upper Burma'. Shakespear not only mentions the silver
mines ofNogmung but the process of melting. If it was so we may well postulate that
mineral resources must have accentuated exchange contacts of this area. In relation to
amber and jade Shakespear mentions that their trade was mainly confined to China.
Considering all these D. K. Chakrabarti broadens the horizon of Maurya empire and
presumes 'a Gangaplain-south China route as early as the third century BC'. We are
informed about some marts on the route through Bhutan, Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh
to Udalguri on the Assam-Bhutan border. There peoples from Bhutan, Tibet and even
from China exchange their commodities. From Tibet came rock salt and silver and
from Assam came rice, silk, iron and lac. He put forward the exchange tradition
between Tibet and Arunachal Pradesh on basis of information supplied by R. K.
Billorey (1986). The Memba traders of Arunachal Pradesh acted as intermediaries
between the Tibetans and their southern neighbours. They took to Tibet dyes, hides,
cane, chilly, Ende (Edi) silk, etc. collecting from several tribes (from south) and
brought Tibetan salt and wool. These two are the chief commodities from Tibet. 130
Barind area's connections in the east extended, as is postulated by D. K.
Chakrabarti, across Karatoya (Brahmaputra during this time flew through the
Bangladeshi district of I\,1ymensingh), to present Dhaka-Comilla-Chttagong region,
thus giving it access to Arakan and further to Irrawaddy Valley from where one route
went upto Prome in Myanmar. Going upward from Comilla one could reach Kachar
plain in Assam and thence to Manipur and Myanmar. In this context he views the
Wari Bateshwar site, at the mouth of Brahmaputra, as a chief port for Mahasthangarh.
130 We may remember that Tibetans perhaps continuing their woollen trade still now. In each winter they come down to different cities in the plains.
136
About this opening he says ' ... Mahasthangarh itself was a place that looked towards a
vast area of Asia on its north and cast: the plateau of Tibet, the fertile plains of the
Brahmaputra, the hills and valleys of north Burma extending up to south China, and
finally to the Arakan coast and the lrrwaddy valley itseir . 131 Pur:~ravardhana's
connection with the lower Bengal where ancient Gange (mentioned in the Perip/us)
country was located (the market town being at Chandraketugarh as has been opined
by K. G. Goswami and others) was secured by a rout~ through Jessore to Bhagirathi
(ancient). It thus got a link with the port of Ganga, which is not yet satisfactorily
identified. In this context D. K. Chakrabarti vehemently opposed the conclusion of B.
N. Mukherji that 'There was no direct contact of Roman sailors' with Bengal coast
and he emphatically expresses that 'On their way to China and southeast Asia ships
from t}1e Mediterranean must have known this coast quite well. ....... that the entire
coastal tract of ancient Vanga from the Bhagirathi mouth to the region west of
Meghna was known to the sailors from the Mediterranean' .132 We may at least say
that the integration with Magadha system opened waterways contact for
Mahasthangarh as well as Pur;d_ravardhana with her south-east (till Chittagong) and
south-west (Orissa coast) 133 neighbours along coastal line, if not directly connected
her with overseas trade.
Accessibility of Pu~~ravardhana to a Vast Trade Network
The geographical block from the east of the Bhagirathi and Mahananda to the
ancient channel of Brahmaputra through the present Mymensingh district in
Bangladesh lying below the terai and along the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra
perhaps stood as one geographical unit if we accept D. K. Chakrabarti's
proposition. 134 There may arise some differences but if one looks at the material
culture exposed in this block and the rest of north-eastern India a qualitative
difference at once can be noticed during the beginning of early historic times. The
latter certainly had an elaborate exchange system characteristically in alignment with )
the physical environment and resources of hilly tracts in terms of communication and
productive capacity. While the former must have taken a forward leap in material
131 D. K. Chakrabarti, Archaeological Geography of the Ganga Plain, 70-72. 132 Ibid, 155-56. 133 Ibid, 260-75. 134 He actually envisages Maurya control 'along the entire extent of the northern bank of the Brahmaputra and covered both the northern and southern banks of the river up to Tezpur'.- Ibid, 65.
137
culture although maintaining close exchange contact with this vast hilly tract. It
perfected in the production ofNBPW and nurturing certain pieces ofRW. Both were
found in the pre city phase in Mahasthangarh. The sherds of NBPW and RW were
unearthed in Wari-Bateshwar also but as virgin soil has not been reached we are not
definite about the date of these sherds. 135 One can presume that earlier phases in
deeper layers in Wari-Bateshwar will also reveal the same artefacts proving that it
also reached identical economic stage in pre-Maurya occupation levels,. On the basis
of Mahasthangarh and Bangarh artefacts we can say that before the Maurya
occupation this unit was in exchange relation with its western neighbour (from where
it got the NBPW know how) and got in some kind of contact with the Mediterranean
exchange system also (as the presence of RW shows).. It appears that
Pundravadhana's geographical location opened up a new possibility to the Magadhan
rulers. Endowed with immense natural potentiality in her riverine and agronomic
resources it appeared as a land of linkage through the regularisation of the existing
traditional routes 136 and thus making it an important and safe transit for goods from its
north and north-east as far as China. Its admission opened a new zone in the existing
network of economic activities spread over from Roman Empire to China through sea
come land route. Its inclusion opened a long land route from Assam via North Bengal.
Ultimately the route was connected with a long royal road up to north-western India.
There after it went to different countries. 137 Goods coming down to Pundravardhana
partly might have taken through downstream the Ganga to the port of Gange. Along
the eastern coast and inland route these were directed to the western coast for
135 Although D. K. Chakrabarti has not mentioned the discovery of RW as far as Wari-Bateshwar in his latest work of 200 I. It certainly could have strengthened his conviction about the direct Mediterranean contact of Barind tract. 136 Recently we came across a same approach in an article. It highlights the formation of a vast network of exchange system by joining up the separated routes lying in different parts of the territory from the J' western Europe via a number of Asian countries to China in the early centuries of Christian era. -Ian C. Glover, 'Recent Archaeological Evidence for Early Maritime Contacts between India and South-East Asia', in H. P. Ray & J. F. Salles (eds.), Tradition and Archaeology: Early Maritime Contacts in the Indian Ocean, rep. 1998, 129-31. 137 We may cite the following observations. Warn1ington mentions how from Kabul through Gandhara the Indus was reached and how from Taxi Ia another route went to Patna via Punjab. From here another route bifurcated and went to Ujjain.- E. H. Warmington, Commerce between the Roman Empire and India, (Munshirarn Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.), originally published in 1928, first Indian ed. 1995, 18-26. The same author says that Iran was linked with Magadha by an overland route (pp. 23, 3!.)W. W. Tarn discussed elaborately about Chang Kien's venture to Ta-shia (Bactria) and gives him the credit to open to China the world of west and regularize trade communication between China and Iran' along the subsequently famous Silk Route'.- W. W. Tarn, The Creeks in Bactria & India, Cambridge, 1938, 311. Megasthenes also noticed the royal road, which started from the north-west frontier and went along touching Taxila, Hastinapur, Kanauj and Prayaga ..
138
shipment for the Roman world. Puiiqravardhana's products specially rice and textile,
along with the goods from Vanga and Northern India could have formed a part of the
consignment for the south-east Asian countries too.
We may remember stories of a much late work like in the Kathasaritsagara
(I I th century) about the coming of Brahma~as and merchants from UjjJini, Benaras,
Ai1ga, etc. to Pu11d,ravardhana. Some went to south-east Asian direction from
PUt:d,ravardhana. Although this does not clearly exhibit commercial connection but it
shows that people from northern and western India sometimes first came to
Pur:9ravardhana en route to Tamralipta.
PUt:qravardhana's integration in the north Indian polity adde~ a new
dimension affecting her economy and culture in a profound way. Vast range of
archaeological objects what we confront from the 3rct century BC in Pury<}ravardhana
as well as Bengal is the result of this integration. It was the beginning of the
urbanization in certain parts almost simultaneously. The nerve centre of trade through
the royal road of upper and middle Ganga valley invited traders to traverse through
this land also. The most significant aspect of this integration was the massive
utilization of Pul}~ravardhana's potentiality in terms of its physical location and
environment. A number of sites surfaced in Bengal in its different parts with identical
artefacts, trade relations, building technique and materials and medium of exchange at
the same chronological phase. At its eastern point remained Wari-Bateshwar138 and
Western Chandraketugarh 139 and the port city ofTamralipta. 140
Medium of Exchange
After the France-Bangladesh team's excavation m Mahasthangarh and
investigation by Rahman in Bogra district we are to some extent in a better situation
13x The preliminary report of the trial digging in the village ofWari shows very significant discoveries. Of all we may mention the following objects like a sherd ofRW, a piece of knobbed ware, a good number ofNBPW, BSW and other common ceramics, a few semi-precious stone beads and raw materials, flakes of quartz and amethyst, melted pieces of iron, traces of fallen mud wall and traces of some sort of burning activities. It is observed that the major part of the two villages Wari and Bateshwar are under ancient settlement and a number of neighbouring villages still bear traces of settlements. These were located on laterite soil above the flooding level.- E. Haque, (ed.), Excavation at Wari-Bateshwar: a preliminary study, 16-25. l.l<J For archaeological work carried out till today in Chandraketugarh one may see E. Haque, Clwndraketugarh: A Treasure house ofBengal Terracotlas. 140 It is observed that the last two sites exhibit same material developments in the same chronological
J phase as is found in Mahasthangarh. E. g. see G. Sengupta, Archaeology of Coastal Bengal,'in H. P. Ray and J. F. Salles, (eds.), Tradition and Archaeology-Early Maritime Contacts in the Indian Ocean, Manohar, New Delhi, 1996, rep. 1998. 118-120.
139
concernmg the evidences of the cun·ency and medium of exchange of
PUI~qravardhana/Varendra in ancient period. It has been proved by the archaeology of
pre-city phase in North Bengal that there existed no coinages in any form. Inferences
are drawn on this aspect from later evidence. Chronologically the first of it comes
from the Mahasthan record. The tern1s gaJ?ufaka, kakanJka and kosa have been put
forward in different writings 141 to show that a local system of exchange through the
media of cowrie had been prevalent- before the entry of punch-marked silver and cast
copper coins presumably with Maurya occupation of North Bengal. The term
gm~ufaka may be traced in ganda (> gm11qa> gan:qaka), a unit of four in the local
system of counting in Bengal, present in some parts of it even today. In transactions l
ganda equals to the value of 4 cowries. Kakanika is restored from the partially
damaged term (kakani)yikehi 142 in the same record. This is mentioned first in the
Arthafastra, which is taken to mean coin of very small denomination. When the new
metallic currency entered in Bengal in the city phase the old system through the
medium of cowrie was adjusted in the ratio of 1 kakar:ika: 20 cowrie. It is also
postulated that both might have been the part of 'local system current in pre-Mauryan
Bengal and traditionally effective in local transactions as a theoretical standard of
value ... but approved by the new regime on account of its convenience' .143 The fact is
that so far even a single cowrie has not been attested from lower layers either in the
France-Bangladesh or earlier reports. Rahman reported earthen pots full of cowries
from three sites in Mahasthan area (Dev Kunda, Shibbari and Gorna Dhap144). Earlier
K. N. Dikshit informed about the recovery of cowrie hoard from Paharpur. 145 But
chronologically these are found from early medieval period. The city stage revealed a
sudden rise in the remains characteristic of the contemporary sites of this
subcontinent. A better economic stage is reached by the circulation of currency in
silver and copper. The France-Bangladesh excavations brought so far the largest
number of coins from the citadel area. The levels 6, 7, 8 and 10 are registered with
141 See B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', 43. 142 B. M. Barua, 'The Old Brahmi Inscription ofMahasthan', IHQ, Vol. 10, 1934, 58. 143 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Benga1',43-44. 144 S. S. M. Rahman, Archaeologicallnvestigation in Bogra District, 213. See the list of sites also in Table ID. 145 K. N. Dikshit, 'Excavations at Paharpur', 33. From the description of Fa-hien about the use of cowrie in madhyadesha,one may derive its use in Bengal also. See B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', 53.
140
cast copper and silver punch marked coins in recent excavation in Mahasthangarh. 146
The 1960-61 excavation recovered a good number of copper punch marked and cast
copper coins in Govinda Bhita from the level ascribed to 3rd century BC. 147 Besides,
the same year excavation inside the citadel also brought into light certain copper
punch marked and cast copper coins, which were supposed to have been in circulation
before the 2nd century BC. 148 In 1987 a hoard of silver punch marked coins had been
found in Baigachha, Rajshahi district. 149 From Rajshahi distJ·i~::t another hoard of
silver punch marked coins is reported. It was found in Fetgram. 150 Bangarh yielded
punch marked silver and cast copper coins from the depth of about 8Y2 ft. to 21 ft.
majority came from 'a level of 14 ft. to 21 ft.' below the surface. K. G. Goswami
believes that these were in use in the Sunga age. 151
Stray finL!s in gold (very few), silver and copper coins are reported in different
times, which belonged to Kushan.a period. 152 A. K. Maitra recorded some coins from
S. K. Saraswati Collection found in Birol, Rajshahi. All these are inscribed cast
copper coins. 153 We do not know why these were ignored in later works and writings
on Bengal coinage in early period. The finds, especially the latest one from the citadel
by France- Bangladesh venture helped to some extent in better understanding of the
implications of the remains discovered from Mahasthangarh and Bangarh belonging
to the same time. The occurrences go well with the conclusion that Pul)qravardhana
146 See FIR, 107(cast copper coins 'in sensitive numbers' from level6),113 ('some cast copper coins' from level 7), 121 (cast copper coins from level 8), and (a hoard of silver punch marked coins). 147 N. Ahmed, Mahasthan, 30. 148 Ibid, 34. We should mention here that later researches show that most of the copper coins described as punch marked are actually cast coins. -FIR, 238. 149 FIR, 238. 150 FIR, 241, f. n. 27. A. K. Maitra reported about this hoard. He divided these coins into 5 types. A.K. Maitra, The Ancient Monuments of Varendra, 17. 151 K. G. Goswami, 'Excavation at Bangarh', 31-32. The collective number of coins discovered from different places, however, cannot be found anywhere. A hoard with 93 silver punch-marked coins found in level 10, which are studied and published in FIR,237-57. Here we get some idea about the weight of 33 Baigachha silver punch marked coins . From 1960-61 excavations the Mahasthangarh Museum preserves only 27 unscribed copper cast coins. With these we should add 35 silver punch marked from Fetgram, Manda P. S. in Rajshahi district.- FIR, 238 and 241. The total number of Bangarh coins amounts to 14, 5 being silver punch marked.- K. G. Goswami, 'Exca~ation at Bangarh', 31-32. For other few coins see belo.w. 152 One gold coin of Kanishka I is reported from Mahasthangarh. - B. N. Mukherjee, Coins and Currency System in Gupta Bengal Cir. A. D. 320-550, New Delhi, (Harman Publishing House), 1992,24. 153 Exact number of the unscribed cast copper coins is not mentioned. These are divided into two types. The inscribed gold coin (legend effaced) belonged to Kanishka I and the inscribed (Oesho) copper coins belonged to Huvishka and Vasudeva respectively. The gold coin found from Mahasthan perhaps belonged to Vasudeva. It is preserved in the VRM. Mahasthan perhaps yielded a Kidara Kushana gold coin. It is now in Indian Museum, Kolkata. Another gold coin of Vasudeva from Maida is reported as with H. E. Stepleton.- A.K. Maitra, The Ancient Monuments of Varendra, 17-19.
141
was a part of broad exchange network through the identical currency prevalent in
different parts of this subcontinent for some centuries on either side of the Christian
era. Here, however, we should mention that the study of the silver punch marked
coins found in Mahasthangarh and Baigachha shows that the weight of the earliest
pieces (with exception for 2 coins) is much less than the karshapaf}a standard of 3.7
grams. These are grouped into series IV in the general classification for the punch
marked silver coins. But the Fetgram hoard on the contrary perhaps conforms to
karshapana standard. This tends to adhere the former with a regional weight standard
grew up in later phase. 154 Stratigraphically also the Mahasthangarh hoard belongs to
the late city phase. 155 The Mahas~han hoard displays a systematic punching of
symbols in terms of their position on the flank. Here also we may see regional
influence. 156 Such regional development may be an indication of a more mature
economic stage for Pul}.gravardhana. The end of Maurya control gave way to the
local standard with local devices. Metal currency must have been in use in
commercial transactions of whatever volume still Puqqravardhana could keep with
other territories. However, the total number of such coins as we could enumerate from
different sources still is not so numerous as to infer a strong state of exchange system
for carrying voluminous transactions through currency at different levels.
The raw material for silver coins perhaps was locally available as the term
Gauqika used in the Artha~astra for a class of silver indicates (II, 13). As we do not
have any concrete evidence of the exact place of occurrence of silver in Gauda we
may remember here lands to the north and northeast of North Bengal, which we
mentioned above. Probing may be carried on to connect these places as probable
sources of silver (like Nogmung on the Patkoi route to Burma). 157 Copper could have
been brought from Singbhum and from Hazaribagh-Giridih and the eastern fringes of
the plateau in West Bengal.
Gupta inscriptions tend to show the use of gold coins more extensively. From
land grants we are confirmed that gold dinara and silver ritpaka were standard
154 FIR, 241. 155 The level I 0 where the hoard was found belongs roughly to the period I 00 BC-AD I 00. See the Table in FIR. 160. 156 FIR, 241. 157 Some suggestions are available in this regard. Source of silver can be sought in countries of southcast Asia like Nan-Chao ofThailand and Bawdwin mines of the Shan state of Myanmar. These might have come into Pundranagara through hilly routes. -Pranab K. Chattopadhyaa, 'Harikela coins of Bengal :Archaeometallurgical Studies',JBA, Vol. 6, 2001, 127-37.
142
I d . I . I 1158 . I currencies m an transactions at east m government eve even 111 rura
PUI)qravardhana. As all the records of Gupta age deal with land transactions we
cannot know about other areas where the same currencies could have been in use.
Silver rupaka has been found mention in one case in the Baigram copperplate. It was
used as fraction of dznara, 16 rupaka being valued as I dzi1ara. The ratio has been
reached through the calculation of prices of different pieces of gift land in the
Baigram plate. However, the metal contents in the Gupta gold and silver coins attest
higher value of silver. 159 Only 2 silver coins are so far reported from North Bengal
(sec f. n. 150). Above we have mentioned the probable sources for silver. The rarity
of silver pieces may imply a significant fall in the use of hilly routes through which
earlier silver poured in Pu~qravardhana. Only a few Gupta gold coins had been
attested from North Bengai. 160
Pala kings 161 perhaps did not Issue coms although their inscriptions take
certain names of currency like dramma 162 and pura71a. The epigraphic evidence in a
solitary instance put forward hema to indicate gold bullion. 163 The context in which
the term hirm:ya occurred in the Pala and Sena plates indicates that probably 'it was
used then to denote something paid in cash'. 164 Pural}a has found mention only in a
single Pala plate. 165 It perhaps indicated the silver kiirshapan,a. But till now not a
single silver coin is recorded from Pala 'levels in Mahasthangarh, Bangarh and other
places 166 it is concluded that the term pura!Ja perhaps stood for kapardaka-puraf}a,
found in the Sena records. It is explained that purm:a when associated with kapardaka
158 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', 45. 159 The ratio comes down to I: 4 or I: 4.6. -B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', 45-46. I(JQ 2 gold coins of Chandragupta II are in YRM and I gold of Skandagupta is in AM. A silver coin of Skandagupta had been recovered from Kumarpur by S. K. Saraswati. One imitated coin of gold after the Gupta series is in the collection of Rai Mrityunjay Ray of Rangpur.- A. K. Maitra, The Ancient Monuments of Varendra, 19-21. S. S. M. Rahman, however, says about I silver coin of Mahendragupta and I gold coin of Chandragupta II from present Bogra district.- S. S. M. Rahman, Archaeological Investigation in Bogra District, 213. 161 B. D. Chattopadhyaya has elaborately dealt the exchange system of this period in his 'Currency in Early Bengal'. 162 One inscription of the time of Dharmapala says about spending 3000 dram mas for the excavation of a tank. But this citation has no direct relation with North Bengal. 163 In the Silimpur plate we are told about 100 hema.- R. G. Basak, 'Silimpur stone-slab inscription of the time of Jayapala-dcva,' 1.19. 1r'4 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', 58. lr.s D. C. Sircar, 'Bhaturiya Inscription of Rajyapala. 153'. 1r'1' We came to know of a few srivigra pieces of silver and copper. The site of Paharpur yielded among others 5 round copper coins bearing the legend srivigraha. But their attribution to the Pala king Yigrahapala is not accepted by many numismatists.
143
should mean that it was counted by cowries. 167 One karshapmJa was equal to 1280
cowries. 168 Discovery of earthen pots full of cowree-shells from the early medieval
sites is really significant in this context. 169 These prove beyond doubt the usc of
cowrie in this period perhaps in both small and large transactions. The first epigraphic
record showing its use in Bengal comes from an inscription during the time of
Sasanka. 170 Paying of cowrie as ferry charge during river crossing has been mentioned .. -·
in the chmy7ipadas. 171 The Rmnacharita Ii~~ntions the payments of the servants in
cowries. 172 Use of Cowrie in small transaction continued till recent past in Bengal.
Infom1ation in later sources about bringing cowrie-shells from Maldives as
commodity to India has been referred to in different writings. Besides, coins already
in circulation introduced during the reign of previous rulers were also in use. 173
Again we may say that so far archaeological activities do not confirm this suggestion.
It appears more probable from the literary evidence, indigenous and foreign, that
cowrie actually had been in use consistently perhaps from the Gupta period onward.
North Bengal lost the link connecting to the sources of silver in Thailand and
Myanmar with the end of her first city phase. Later dynasties even the Palas could not
revive the link although same source had been supplying silver for a part of eastern
Bengal in Mainamati. This link by that time had been a part of an exchange network
having no relation with the Pala kingdom. It has been shown that silver from these
places again started to pour in North Bengal for the Sultanate coinage in the medieval
times. 174
167 One may go through the suggestions made by different schdlars regarding the interpretation of kapardaka-purana in D. R. Bhandarkar, 'Lectures on Ancient Indian Numismatics', Calcutta, 1921, 139 and 176 and S. K. Chakravortty, 'Kapardaka Purana',/HQ, Vol. 8, first pulished 1932, rep. 1985, 595-99. 168 D. C. Sircar, Studies in Indian Coins, (Motilal Banarasidass), Delhi, 16. 169 See f. ns. 145 and 146 in this chapter. 170 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', 53. 171 A. Majumdar, Charyapadas, 22. 172 Referred to by B. D. Chattopadhyaya also in B. D. Chattopadhyaya, 'Currency in Early Bengal', 53. 173 D. C. Sircar, Land System and Feudalism in India, (University of Calcutta), 1966, 59. 174 Pranab K. Chattopadhyaa, 'Harikela coins of Bengal :Archaeometallurgical Studies', 131.
144
The Pundra People 175 and the Early Society of North Bengal '.
Before going into the details we will first try to see what the early sources say
about tl1 e Pw]gra people, after whose name the sub-region came to be known.
References to the PuQ9ra people in different texts had been much cited by several
scholars engaged with the study of society of early India. Information about the
Put?c!ra people is necessarily to be taken from the Brahmat~ical texts or ''Iiied ones.
The inhabitants of Pul)cjravardhana/Varendra in the epigraphs never wet~e described as
Pu~1~ras. Not only that, the epigraphs seem to pose a different picture about the social
structure. The early authoritative Brahmal)ical texts appear to have been of little
relevance to this sub-region so far the social stratification is revealed to us. Even a I
society with the two-fold var'Ja system (Brahmarya and Sudra), as was determined by
the lawmaker:; for the 11ands lying outside upper and lower Ganga valley, does not
seem to exist in the epigraphic sources. There is a two-sided history from two types of
sources. Below we will try to put the relevant information to perceive the perspective
of contradictory stand revealed by the textual evidence and epigraphs.
Textual References First we will trace the course of transformation in the approach of Vedic
authorities towards non-Vedic peoples. Next is to trace why the change took place.
The second will help us to understand that the peoples to the east of Ganga never
really were given Kshatriya rank. In the beginning we should confess that there are a
few references to the Pm;u;ira people in the earliest texts. We are in the dark as how to
categorize the Puqqras. 176 Were all ofthem members of a kingroup, a clan or a tribe?
Early sources do not throw light on the social organizations of any people.
This factor perhaps forced the historians to pick up an uncontroversial term like
'people'. The early references as is told are contained in the Vedic literature or in
texts closely connected with it. Hence, we have to see the Pundras through the eyes of .. others, and such others, as we will see, whose faith, language, customs and perhaps
175This portion is a critical elaboration of an already published paper by the same author. -R. Ghosh, 'Early History of the Pundra People', The Quarterly Review of Historical Studies, Vol. 36, Nos. I & 2, (Institute of Historical Studies), Calcutta, 1996, 1-12. 176 Even for the aryas, about whom we are in a much better situation as there is a vast vedic literature as source of information, we see the same problem. The term tribe is not found befitting for the social organizations the aryas had. As a result it got to be described as lineage society- Romila Thapar, From Lineage to State-Social Formations in the Mid-First Millennium BC. in the Ganga Valley, (OUP), Delhi, first published in 1984, 5th impression 1996.
145
physical attributes were altogether different. The antagonistic attitude about the
peoples, who were neighbours and perhaps the indigenous inhabitants, or, at least,
started inhabiting this land earlier than the Aryans, is explicit from the beginning. The
f!.-gveda (1200-1000 BC) categorized them as dasyus who were a-karman (rite-less),
a-devayu (indifferent to gods), a-yajvan (not sacrificing), etc. Even their languages
were not intelligible to the Vedic Aryans as the tenn mrdhravach applied to them
indicates. They were of dark complexion (krshf!atvach) and flatnosed (anas). 177 The
first three expressions show that the dasyus did not observe Vedic rituals and had no
belief in the Vedic pantheon. The last two have some bearings on the physical
attributes, which perhaps did not confom1 to those of the Vedic people. We, therefore,
see an ethno-cultural implication in the use of the term dasyu. 178 The term dasa 179 in
the same text has been used with same bearing. The term van;a is found to show a
distinction between the aryas and the dasyus (Hatvi dasyum praya var"!amavat). 180
We come across prayers where Indra and other gods were invoked to subdue the
dasyus and dasas. 181 Indra has been praised when he succeeded. 182 Several instances
also are there about the destruction of the dasyus by different gods. 183
The Pul]-~ras have not found mention in the lJ.-gveda. The Aitareya Brahmaf}a
(8/71h BC) for the first time refers to the Pundras when it describes that Visvamitra,
. • . I I
being angry with his senior fifty sons as they declined to accept Sunah.sepa (Devarata)
177 All these expressions and their meanings have been taken from A. M. Macdonell and A B. Keith, Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Vol. I, 1958, 346-349. 178 Differences on cultural line are also sought by others. E. g. see Romila Thapar, Ancient Indian Social Hist01y: Some Interpretations, New Delhi, 1978, f. n. 15, 229. The same purport she intends to imply again when she says while showing the differences between the dasa and dasyu in relation to the iiryas that the latter had 'variant religious beliefs and customs which the myas saw as the negation of their own'. Romila Thapar, From Lineage to State, 18. 179 H. H. Wilson, ~g-veda-Smphitii, Vol. 3, (Nag Publishers), Delhi, 1977, 14. R. S. Sharma tried to show that the terms dasyu and dasa perhaps did not refer to the same and identical people. In the same context he opines that the enemies of the Aryans which included the dasa category also 'were physiognomically different.' He illustrates that from the references to the enemies it is clear that cattle constituted the main issue of many battles but 'difference in race, religion and mode of speech also served to exacerbate relations' though it may be said that diisas had a 'better terms' with the Aryans or a section of it than the dasyu did have. R. S. Shanna, Siidras in Ancient India: A Social Hist01y of the Lower Order down to circa AD 600, Delhi, 1958, seconded. 1980, I 0-17. The differential attitude, he explains, perhaps resulted from the fact that 'the Dasas were an advance guard of mixed indo-Aryan peoples who came to India' about 1750 BC'. - Ibid, 27. We may remember that dasas were also regarded as 'agricultural communities of the late Harappan or post- Harappan cultures of the area'. -Romila Thapar, From Lineage to State, 18. Dasa- dasyu terms received divergent interpretations from scholars. Some found both in identical category some attempted to point out differences. 180 H. H. Wilson, Rg-veda-Swizhita, 111. 3. 5. 9. 181 •
Ibid. E. g. V. l. 4. 6. 182 !hid. 11.2. 2. 8 and 9. 183 Ibid. V. 1. 14. 4, IV. 2. 6. 9, 10 and 12.
!46
as his son, cursed them that they would have the lowest castes for their 184
descendants. Thus the degraded classes, 'the rabble for the most part, such as the I
Andhrakas, Pw~d.ras, Sabaras and Mutipas' 185 sprang. They were mostly composed
of dasyus. 186 It leaves a strong possibility that the Pw:qras also were considered as
dasyus, and, it leaves for no doubt that all these peoples had a derogatory status in the
eyes of the Vedic authors. Hence, since the days of the Rgveda the attitude about the
non-Ary::1_ns ·;·emained same. It is interesting that the peoples who were included
within the fold of dasyu might not have been homogenous in cultural and physical
aspects. Though the use of this unitary tenn for them implies that. It shows that to the
Vedic authors peoples of this subcontinent was divided mainly into two groups the
aryas and the dasyus. No doubt the Gi)JGS at that time were a tiny minority in
comparison to the dasyus. By the time, however, the idea of four varn,as came into
existence and duties of respective varlJaS had been formulated.
Among all the people who inhabited in the land of Bengal, the earliest
reference of any sort has been found for the Pu!f<;lra people in relation to the above
mentioned story in the Aitareya Briihma'!a. Chronologically, the next reference to the
PmJcJras has been found in the Baudhayana Dharmasutra (5/41h century BC) together
with another people of Bengal, the Varigas. It states that one who will traverse the
lands of the Pu!fc;iras, Vangas, etc. should purify himself by performing rites like the
d h - 187 pw;astoma an sarvaprs {a.
I t
Confirmation of Siidra status by the Sastras
The Brahmanical attitude to the non-Aryan peoples first shows a change in the I
smrti texts where the Pul}qra people are categorized as Sudras. The Manusmrti (AD
200) even gives an explanation of their gradual falling from the Kshatriya status to the I
lowest category fixed for the Siidras in the four-fold vanJa system. 188 An echo of it is
1x4 P. V. Kane, History of Dharmalastra, (BORJ), Poona, Vol. 2, Pt. II, 47. IRs Martin Haugh, Aitureya Brahmana, Vol. 2, (Bharatiya Publishing house), Delhi, rep, 1976, 469-470. The same legend has been cited in the Sankhayana Srautasiitra, Alfred Hillebrand!, (ed.), XV, 26, 195 (Sanskrit). 1x6 P. V. Kane, History ofDharma.tastra, Vol. 2, Pt. II, 47. 1x7 ilra({an Karsakaran PwJcfran Sauvlran Vmigan Kalingan! Pranunaniti cha Catva Pw!astomena _)'ajeta Sarvaprshtaya va II 30 II, for English translation Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 14, Part II. I. I. 14. .
lXX It states that as a result oftheir non-performance of sacred rites and non-consultation with the Brahmanas, the Paundrakas (the Pundras) along with other tribes (the Kodas, the Dravidas, the Kamboj~s. the Yavanas, etc.) who ~~re originally of Kshatriya class sank 'to the positioi1 of Sudras Sacred Books of" the East, Vol. 25 (Reprint), X. 43 and 44. In the next siitra numbering 45 it makes
147
to be found in the Mahabharata. The As'vamedhikaparva expounded how the I t
PuiJqras derogated to the category of v':shala (Sudra). 189 While the Santiparva
remembers perhaps an early tradition as it describes them as dasyujfvin. 190 The
SrTmadbhagavat states the same tradition that the Draviqas, Abhiras, Pau~qras I
(Pundras) together with the Sabaras, became vrshalas due to the non-performance of . . . duties by the Kshatriyas. 191
Pu11~ras in the Epic and Pauranic Literature
The Pu!!d.ra people have been mentioned m many other places of the
Mahabharata also with other peoples of India. Their names had been enumerated to
produce a list, as occasions required to put an assemblage of peoples for the scenes
like the }Jattlefield in Kurukshetra where numerous peoples and kings gathered under
two hostile banners and fought against each other for days. The Puqqras were said to
have been defeated thrice on three different occasions, first by Pal}qu, next by Kan;a
and last by Arjuna. Everywhere they appeared as one of many such peoples who lived
mainly beyond the land of the Kuru family, especially to its east. Pa~~u set out for
conquest thirty days after his marriage with Madri, defeated the Pul}d~as and Suhmas
after conquering Mithila, Videha and Kasi' (I, 105, 12). Afterwards the Pu!!~ras sided
with the Kauravas perhaps after Kama subjugated them with some other peoples
(VIII. 5. 19). Arjuna is also said to have uprooted them once again with other sea
peoples like the Vangas and the Keralas (XIV, 83, 30). They are said to have
incorporated in the army of Yudhishtpira. Their non-Aryan affinity has been
mentioned for several times. 192 There are some stories about the Puqqra king also. He
is referred to sometimes as Pauq<;inidhipa Vasudeva or Pauqqraka Vasudeva. The
clear that " All those tribes in this world, which are excluded from (the community of) those born from the mouths, the am1s, the thighs, and the feet (of Brahman) are called dasyus whether they speak the languages of the mlechchhas (barbarians ) or that of the Aryans." It shows that the term dasyu also acquired a different meaning if we compare it with that used in the Rgveda. The author there distinguished the dasyu people as mrdhravach by which it excluded any Aryan speaking people. Here dasyus are clearly differentiated from the Sudras. ) 189 For all the references of the Mahabharata, if not otherwise mentioned, see the Critical Edition of the BORI. Here the sloka runs as follows: Tesham savihitmiz karma tadbhayannanutishthatani I Praja vrshalata1i1 prapta b~hmnanamadars~nat II Ta ete dramidah Kiis'ah Pundrascha S~baraih saha I rlrshalatvain parigata ~y~tthanatkshatradharmata~, II., 29: 15-1. • • • . 19b S. Sorensen, An Index to the Names in the Mahabharata with Short Explanations and a Concordance to the Bombay and Calcutta Editions and P. C. Roy's Translations, (Motilal Banarasidass), Delhi, rep. 1963, Delhi, 547. 191 Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 8, reprint 1990, XIV. 20. 192 For all these and more references see S. Sorensen, An Index to the Names in the Mahabharata., 566, 567 and 547.
148
I
Sabhaparva states that during the time of digvijaya Bhii11a subjugated many kings of
the east, one of them was powerful Paundradhipa Vasudeva (Tatah Paundradhipah • 0 • • • •
vlram Vasudevam mahavaham I Kaus1
ikikachchhanilayan~l rajcinan1 cha mahaujasas
- II 27. 30.). He was present in the svayamvara ceremony of Draupadi.
Dhrshtadyumna took his name when enumerating the assembled kings from different
countries (Pauryrjraka VGsudevascha Bhagadatt(L~cha vTryavan
. " -Ka/ingastamralljJtascha pattanZidhipatistatha svayamvara - I. 177. I 2). On many
occasions we encounter a list of countries whose kings arc said to have been present
to attend a certain ceremony (like the one when several kings were waiting for
Yudhisht,hira who was to enter the palace built by Maya - 11. 4. 21 ). In such
occasions we came to know that the king of the Pul)qras was also there. K~shtp
described Pau~19raka Vasudeva as thy king ofVariga, Pur~qra and Kirata countries. We
are told that he had friendly relation with samrat Jarasandha. He was defeated by
Krshna in one encounter. Paundraka Vasudeva is stated to have boasted of as the real .. . ... Vasudeva. The ninth skanda of the SrTmadbhagavat states that Bharataraja conquered
the non-Brahmar:a king of the Puqdras (9.20.18.). In chapter I. 24. it says about the
Puqqra king as taking part in the Kurukshetra war with the Kauravas. Some later texts
like the Agnipura'?a say193 about a Pauqqraka who was the king of ICasi. He was the
son of Vasudeva and Sutanu, the daughter of Kasiraja. He after becoming the king
boasted of to be the real Vasudeva and thereby brought his destruction at the hands of
~isht;a. In the same Purat;a 194 we came across the myth about Bali, the ascetic. He
generated five sons, Pu114ra, Ariga, Vanga, Mukhyaka and Kaliriga by means of his
power.
We find a gradual change in attitude about the Pur:qras through the passage of
time. Vedic texts always emphasized the cultural pre-eminence of Madhyadda, the
middle Ganga valley, in such a manner that the contrasting co-existence with the 1 cultures outside its territorial limit may be apparent. We witness fervour on their part
to preserve the level of cultural life at its purest form by prohibiting mixation with the
non-Vedic peoples. However, later texts show gradual expansion of the limit of the
middle country to the east and south directions. It is supposed that the expansion of
the Brahmanical culture kept a corresponding effect in the expansion of
193 Agni Purarya, in J. L. Shastri (ed.), Ancient Indian and Mythological Series, Vol. 27, Pt I, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 28 and f.n. 194 Ibid, Vol. 29, Pt III, 747.
149
Madhyade~a's limit. It is suggested that stages of expansion are indicated in the I
allegorical story of Videgha Mathava in the Satapatha Briihmaf!a. 195 It indirectly
points to the expansion of Brahmaqical culture beyond the river Gai].dfki (SadanirQ),
which flowed through Mithila (the capital of Videha i.e. Tirhut in north Bihar). The
whole land of Videha was B6thmaqized in that campaign. Peoples beyond it were
given a room in the Brahmaqical social structure one by one later. But there remained
a difference in question of status between the two lands to the west and east of this
limit.
Above we cited a reference to the Pui].qras and Varigas as is found in the
Baudhayana Dharmasutra. In the previous lloka it describes the Magadha and the
Anga peoples as belonging to sankfr11a yoni (mixed caste I, 1, 13.). It shows that by
that time both these peoples were given room in the Brahmanical social structure
although in an ambiguous manner while the Pundras and Varigas who lived beyond
the Ganga still were considered as avoidable. Afterwards the Manusnu:lti will include
them also with no ambiguity; it would accord a varna rank, although the lowest. ,•
These changes, so far found, leave the readers to encounter two opposite forces in
action. Brahma~ical texts while anxiously pronounce injunctions to prohibit people
from crossing the limit of the sacred land of Madhyade;a, they themselves violate the
same by the way of extending a varl}a status to them (though with discrimination).
Impact on Pundravardhana of the transition in the Material Life of Northern India .. The Hariva~~a states that poverty and hunger drove the people of midland to
step out for the river Kau~ikl (11190-11203). Perhaps this was not all. The reason was
closely connected with the political, economic and cultural developments of that time.
Changes in these areas are visible around the beginning of the first millennium BC. Its
climax is found in the emergence of territorial states, cities and anti-ritualistic
doctrines in the sixth century BC. Both literary and archaeological sources (largely as
corroborative to each other in this case) throw light on the changing scenario. A rough )
north/west-east direction in the progress of change over the northern landscape of this
195 Long ago Prof. Weber pointed out that the story of Videgha Mathava in this text is an indicator of the expansion of the Brahman) cal culture towards eastern India. In s/okas from I 0 to 17 it is stated that the Brahman.as earlier did not cross the river Sadiinii-ci (GaQqak) as it was not burnt by Agni Yaisvanara. But at present (i.e. during the composition of these s1okas) it was well cultivated as it was tasted by Agni. It thus indicates the introduction of Vedic sacrifices in this land. Sacred Books ofthe East, Vol. 12, Pt. I, 104-105 and f.n. I in p. 104.
150
subcontinent may be visible in the rise of great janapadas. We see Gandhara as the
westernmost and Champa as the easternmost states (including modern Bhagalpur and
Monghyr districts). It shows a gradual eastern extension also in the evolution of state
formation. Archaeological evidence 196 tallies with what we derived from the
literature. Steady rise of Magadha as a political force from the 6111 century BC onward
changed the situation rapidly. Magadha proved to be a favourable land for other
unorthodox asce!ics .. and philosophers too. The popularity and influence of Buddha in
a region fast rising as a power centre in the whole Gangetic plains should have
become a matter of concern to other religious propagators including Brahmana
thinkers and lawmakers.
Buddhist and other sources show that Brahman.as were present in this area ' where Buddha was busy in teaching and organizing his followers. Even in the Sakya
country we come across the Brahman.a - gahapatis who were perhaps politically
dominant groups of a nigama there. 197 Buddha even had two important BrahmaQa
disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana who joined the Order. This picture does not tally
with the spirit of the Brahmaqical scriptures, which tended to show contempt to the
Magadhas and Ari.gas. When the Brahman~s entered this land is difficult to answer. It
is stated thatjanapadas came into existence through the conquest and colonization by
the Aryan chiefs. The victorious chiefs then gave their tribal names to the newly
founded settlements. 198 The chiefs must have followed by the purohitas through
whom their sovereign power had been solemnized. But for the Magadha and Anga
janapildas it does not seem so as both of these lands were named after the peoples of
same nomenclatures whose non-Aryan affinity is clear from the early Vedic texts like
the Atharvaveda. 199 The same we find in case of the Pu':~ra, Vanga, Kaliriga, etc. all
belonging to non-Aryan stock. In such case Brahman.a migration in initial stage might
have taken place without the Kshatriya conqueror. They entered this land in order to
I% Kosam (Kau~ambi), the capital of Vatsa, yielded an imposing fortification of pre NBP time. The rampart of Raj ghat (where the; site of Viitanasl has been located), also belongs to the same age. Taxi Ia, on the other hand, yielded punch marked coins of 500 BC pointing to its advanced stage over others in the field of trade and commerce. Gandhara's reputation as a seat of learning, however, might have an even earlier date as has been suggested that its Persian occupation distanced it from 'the intellectual and cultural life of India'. -A. Ghosh, The City in Early Historical india, (Indian Institute of Advanced Study), Simla, 1973, ch. I and V. 197 N. Wagle, Societ)' at the Time of the Buddha, Bombay, 1966, sec. rev. editionl995, 22. 19x A.Ghosh, The Citv in Earlv Historical India, 32. 19
'1 Sacred Books of"the East, .Vol. 42, 2. 14. Another instance may be mentioned here. Kikata, where
people ofun-Aryan origin lived, has been identified with the land of South Bihar Macdonell &Keith, Vedic Index a/Names and Subjects, 158.
151
earn more or even m search of a livelihood during the time of difficulty. The
provision of apaddharma perhaps came to help to these Brahman§ls. It has been
pointed out that instances are there in the vedas of the poor brahmm:as who finding
no shelter in the any Aryan tribe left for wildemess.200 Any way, the existence of
Brahmanical culture before the rise of anti-ritualistic movements is understandable. If
the land in question hag not experienced ritualistic religion and the .Brahmanical
social order the question of protest against both could not have arisen.'
Magadha's great success in political field could not be ignored, its
heterogeneity in others, on the other hand, allowed a restricted admission in the var!}a
structure from the lawgivers. Baudhayana coined the vague term sahkznJa-yoni for
them. Later Manu reiterated it by calling them mixed caste (X, 25 and 26). It may be
mentioned • here that even the Brahmaqa of Magadha had been termed as
brahmabandhu (like the Kshatriya who were brahmakshatriya) in the Brahmaqical
texts indicating a lower status among the Brahmarps. 201 The other countries
mentioned by Baudhayana in this context together with Magadha and Anga show that
these formed a ring around the midland.202 The people who lived beyond that ring like
the Pm~.d_ras were left to be accorded even more lowly room in the social structure, in I
the category of Sudra. Thus classes in ruling capacity as well as in arms profession
and trading community together with the agriculturists had not been accorded strata
due to them. All members in complete disregard to their professions acquired a single , .
berth that is Sudra. Only Brahmana was an exception, in new lands he had to secure
livelihood along with his earthly privileges, which always will give him an edge over
others.
Some Views about the Two-fold Varl'}a System in South and Eastern India
We encounter a different view from B. Stein203 regarding south India where
the same two-tier social classification is found. The study is confined in the early
medieval period. It is argued that the Kshatriya tradition could not emerg(( as there
never developed 'kin-linked organization' due to the absence of widespread 'affinal'
200 D. D. Kosambi, The Culture and Civilization of Ancient India in Historical Outline, rep, 1998, Delhi, 94. 201 H. C. Raychaudhuri, The Political History of Ancient India from the accession of Parikshit to the extinction of the Gupta dynasty, (OUP), Delhi, 1997, p.l 0 I and f. n. 5 and 6. 202 S. Chattopadhyay, Social Life in Ancient India (In the Background of the Yajnavalkyasmrti), Calcutta, 1965, p.25. · 203 B. Stein, Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India, (OUP), Delhi, 1994, 70-71.
152
network, and, 'locality warriors of South India' sprang from peasantry which perhaps
led to the absence of 'conquering elite' as a domineering class to aspire for that status.
But more important than these was the fact that the Brahma1~as there did not need the
warriors' collaboration for preserving their 'secular power', which they secured
through alliance with the local peasantry. This proposition has been critically judged.
The points of arguments when judged for Pw:qravardhana and other areas, where
Kshatriya rank was denied by the Brahman_ical authoritative works, do not appear
logically substantial. Textual references actually expose the transformation of status (
from dasyu to Sudra for the majority.
Suvira Jaiswal tried to contradict the arguments204 of B. Stein advancing her
own from eastern India where the same two-tier structure was prevalent. In case of I I
Bengal the device of clean-Sudra (sat-Sudra) dpeloped to make a difference between I .
the lowly ranked castes (asat-Sudra) and those in high ranking caste groups. This
device, as is argued, kept the Vaidyas and kayasthas, the two upper ranking caste I
groups, satisfied with their Sudra status. It brought a major change 'in the meaning
and significance of the term "sudra" enhancing its acceptability to the Kayasthas,
Vaidyas, etc. But we may remember that the Vaidyas of Bengal still are fighting to
get even more status than the Brahman.as. We see that their Vaisya rank has been
claimed in the Chandraprabhii of 1675 by Bharatamallika, the author himself a
Vaidya scholar. In ;he l81h century they started to use sacred thread. In the south also
they are urging for Brahma~a status. 205 Besides, it should not be ignored that the rise
of either the K"ayastha or the Vaidya as castes did not take place before the 91h
century.206 The epigraphic evidence of the Gupta period shows that the surnames
today used by the Kayasthas had been added as suffixes with the Brahmana
individuals figured in the record as donees. 207 This proves that many of the
204 Suvira Jaiswal, 'Studies in Early Indian Social History: trends and possibilities,' Indian Historical Review, Vol. 6, Nos.l-2, 1979-80, 34-44. 205 The Vaidyas of Bengal are the migrants from Tamilnadu and Keral who were known as AmbashthaVaidya. It is stated that they were degraded Br'?ihma'1as. D. C. Sircar, Pal-Sen luger Bangshanuchar~·ta, 163-69; Idem, Problems of Early Indian Society, (Sanskrit College), Calcutta, 1983, 61-62. 206 Ibid, and Idem, Shilalekha-Tamrashasanadir Prasanga, 24. 207 In the Kalaikuri-Sultanpur inscription of the 3 Brahman,as who received land gift 2 had datta name endings. They are described as bajasaneya-charanabhyantara brahmana. Datta is a very common surname of the Kayasthas of present Bengal. -o: C. Sircar, Kalaikuri Copperplate Inscription of the Gupta Year 120, 17-18. We see same instance in the Mallasarul plate ofVijayasena from present Burdwan district also. Here among the mahattara agraharinas we get five individuals with datta nameendings. -N. G. Majumdar, 'Mallasarul Copper plate ofVijayasena', £!,Vol. 23, (1935-36), 155-61. Once again in the context of Bhaturiya inscription of Rajyapala D. C. Sircar pointed out that in the
!53
individuals worked as Kayasthas i.e. scribes were by birth Brahman~s. Hence their
claim for Brahmaqa rank does not seem baseless. Besides, to counter the view in
contemporary context it may be pointed out that in spite of the presence of the elite
group of warriors the gal'}arashtra-kshatriyas in northern Bihar earned an undignified
prefix vratya from the Brahman,a lawmakers. This happened notwithstanding their
tireless declaration of possessing Kshatriya entity.208 The case of Magadha perhaps is
more elaborating. Despite its domineering political position it could not secure for the
Br="ahmaqas and Kshatriyas an equal status enjoyed by their counterpart in (
Madhyadesa.
An Assessment of the Above Discussion
Of the divergent views, emerged from the endeavour for a logical
understanding for the discrepancy of the ;astrakaras in conferring varl'}a ranks to the
peoples of our country, only a few are put here. As complexities grew in society,
especially from the sixth century BC onward, the Brahmal).a resorted to complicated
fqrmula like the van;a- saizkara theory to keep its hegemony in society. In actuality
we see birth could not restrict profession to any person whatever varr:a he belonged to
since the theory of varlJa germinated. Cultivation was the most common profession as
the peoples of Aryan stock started settling. The trend continued and intensified as
population increased. From the Gupta period (as sources became available) onwards
we see as big landholders not only the individuals from all var'!as but even the
temples of Buddhist and Jain faiths. In this trend, however, local differences are
found. It is thus suggested that 'we s~ould examine the actual cultivating categories in
different regional contexts'. 209
Nidhanpur plate ofBhaskaravarrria there are 7 names ended in kw.nfa and 2 names ended in dasa. All were Brahmanas. -D. C. Sircar, Bhaturiya Inscription of Rajyapala', !52 and f. n. I. 208 Sugge~tions are there that the peoples of these gaiJarash!ras might have been descendants of early Aryans who were pushed away from Madhyades'a by the Puru-Bharatas. -H. C. Raychaudhuri, The Political History of Ancient India. 128. After suppressing the aborigines they assumed the Kshatriya status. Malia, MithiHi, Sakya and Yaisali princes claimed to have belonged to lkshvaku family. The same lineage has been assigned to the Kosala kings by the Raniayal}a and the pura1!as. The Sakyas are known to have spoken an Aryan language too. Orthodox lawgivers, however, took their own course, in fixing the relation with these peoples. Republican clans, as is said above, possibly mostly constituted by the people of Aryan stock, but who showed outright defiance to the orthodox view were regarded as degraded (vriilya) Kshatriyas. -Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 25, X 22; also H. C. Raychaudhuri. The Political Hist01y of Ancient India. 114 and N. Wagle, Society at the Time of'the Buddha, 42. 209 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, The Making of Early Medieval India, (OUP) Delhi, 1994, 25.
154
The textual references may be taken as efforts by the custodians of Brahma~1a
theology to maintain their unquestioned authoritative position over others. The
authors of the normative texts in order to foist Brahmar~ical character throughout the
land devised stories. As such the country remained under its order from the beginning.
The main objective was to keep the interest of the Brahma~as unharmed. Hence we
arc told in the Manusmrti that earlier Pundras and others inhabiting in the south and . - . east were Kshatriyas (see ab,ov·e). They lost this rank as they did not show respect to
the Br:ahmm1as vis-a-vis their order. 210 In the 104th chapter of Adiparva of the
Mahabharata another story was dished out to show the gennination of these peoples.
It has been put in no other but Bhishma's mouth. It runs as, :shi Dlrghatama while
drifting along the Ganga with his children was taken up by king Bali. Desirous of
having son from this rshi he took him to his wife Sudeshr;i But the later, finding I
Dirghatama a blind, sent her Sudra nurse as a result she begot 11 sons. But Bali again
sent Sudesh~a to Dirghatami This time Sudeshqa begot 5 sons only by the touch of
that rshi. They were Aiiga, Va~ga, Ka1inga, Pundra and Suhma. Their kingdoms were . . . named after them. 2ll This is not a single instance. Such stories are found in all sorts of
~listric literature in th(J similar context. In the Mahabhlirata (Sp, 181,15.) we are told
that the Veda was formerly designed by Brahma for all the four var'!as; but the I '
Sudras lost it through cupidity and fell in ignorance. All such stories actually tried to (
show that once the Sudras' enjoyed higher social position. Perhaps such slistric
exposure helped in keeping them satisfied with their actual status in guise, the lowest
in var!J.a classification. It provided them a remote link with the Aryan ancestors
(which actually never existed). It would secure, on the other hand, their unflinching
allegiance to the Brahmar:ical order. On regional basis we will afterwards see same
means has been adopted in later smrti texts originated in Bengal to give explanation
for the degraded position of particular castes. 212 The plain from the river Sarasvatl to
Videha traversed by Videgha Mathava with his priest Agni Vaisv~mara was held as
safe for the people of noble birth (aryas). It was not concealed. The lawgivers upheld
the authoritative capacity of this land. Baudhayana states that 'the rule of conduct
2111 At the same time by implication it cleared to the Kshatriyas the effect of disobeying Brahmanas.R.N. Nandi, Social Roots a/Religion in Ancient india, (K. P. Bagchi& Co.), Calcutta, 19R6, 6. 211 Same story is to be found in the Mat.1yapura1.w and Vayupura,_w.-0. R. Bhandarkar, 'Aryan !migration into Eastern India', ABORI, Vol. 12, Pt. II, Poona, 1931,114. 212 The Bralunavaivartapura1~a clarifies how certain castes of Bengal degraded as a result of committing some harms or simply not giving due respect to the Brahmanas. Panchanan Tarkaratna, ( ed.), Brahmavaivartapurana, Calcutta, B. S. 1314, 20-22.
155
which prevails in Aryavarta (synonymous to Madhyades'a) is authoritative.' (I, 1, 9).
Such claims bore fruits. We see people always looked to this land for authenticity.
Brahman.as and Kshatriyas who left that land and made their fortune outside were not
treated on equal terms with their counterparts who stuck to Madhyade~a. The
tradition of inviting Bt1lhmaqa from the midland is a good example of this trend.213
The Brahmal)a lawgivers and thinkers tried to keep the outward rigid social system
somewhat flexible so that the interest of their own class might be better served. Hence
there are two opposite forces in action. It happened from the urge of bringing, as far
as possible, all sorts of professionals in a hierarchical social frame as it would secure a
'large clientele' to them? 14
Reflections from the Ffpigraphs about social organization
After seeing the Brahman}cal textual stand about the social structure we will
now turn to the epigraphs of our period. The society or more precisely the social
communities as components of the local organization and administrative centers, the
nature of community participation in these in relation to land transaction and the
change over time during the early medieval Bengal have been critically examined by
B. D. Chattopadhyaya. 215 Above we have already cited from his work the more we
will do that now. We will have to look into the same field as we need to find out the
textual relevance in the society as is reflected by the epigraphs. We will have to go
further in certain issues. We meet in the epigraphs different categories of communities
as the process of land transaction went on to completion. We get government
officials, leading communities in urban and rural society, the donor and the donee.
The last two might have belonged to either of the first two categories. The important
aspect for our purpose is that the social status is measured for each category primarily
by its economic relations and sometimes by some social responsibilities. The system
I 213 Inscriptions show the migrated Biihmaqas from Sravasti, Muktavastu, Kolancha or Krod.a"ficha, etc. of present Uttar Pradesh received land donation and settled in Pundravardhana and other parts of Bengal. Their profound knowledge in ~7istras is loudly expressel Later these Brahma11as enjoying greater prestige than other Brahmaqas were recognized as kulin. The same happened in North Bihar also. -D. C. Sircar, Problems of Early Indian Society, (Sanskrit College), Calcutta, 1983, 55-61. Halayudha, a scholar of Sena kings court, speaks in his Brahmana Sarvasva of the ignorance of the local Brahmal"!as of the Brahmanjcal texts 'which were studied ~nly by the Utkalas and the Paschatyas'. R. C. Majumdar, History of Ancient Bengal, 430. 214 G. S. Ghurye, Caste and Race in India, (Popular Prakashan), Bombay, reprint, 1999, 92. 215 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Aspects of Rural Settlements and Rural Society in Early Medieaval India', 20-69.
156
does not conform the BI:ahman_ical stereotype var':a formulation. 216 Only exception is
found for the B1:ahman~s but there also we may trace some distinctions. The
Brahmana when had a certain profession he is figured with his professional identity.
This aspect will be seen particularly in the Gupta epigraphs. The nature of Pala
administrative machinery prevents us in obtaining so details about the social
communities, although the Pala records place many more social categories. But these
were listed in a customary way. We do not see them in participating in any capacity in
the governmental executive works, as we used to find them during the Gupta period.
Hence the Gupta records although shorter in length in comparison to those of the
Palas the social communities figured in them appear to be interactive and thus more
revealing for certain points of our investigation. In both cases, however, we cannot go
into much depth because our epigraphs lack that range in terms of number as well as I
variety of information therein. The range of work accomplished by Cynthia Talbot for
the society of Kakafiya Andhra 217 cannot be achieved for the Gupta and Pala
Puqd_ravardhana. The number "of inscriptions for her study is simply amazing. Still
some aspects of social structure must be highlighted with the limited epigraphic
material we have in possession.
The Gupta Period
The Gupta epigraphs in all cases are about land transactions conducted by the
local administrative centres. Those of the Palas are also about the same purpose with a
few exceptions. The land grants of the Pala period unlike those of the Gupta period
involved the king with all his retinue leaving no interactive space for the social
communities as we told above. In the changing environment, however, certain new
elements crept in which may be interpreted for getting some glimpses of social
organization.
In the Gupta period epigraphs social status is not only revealed in the donors
identity. It is much more revealing in the description of the communities and
individuals involved in the execution of land transactions. In the rural area as only the
representative members from landholders associated the local administrative tiers we
216 The groups were presented, to borrow the expressions ofCynthia Talbot, on the basis of'earned' identity not on 'ascribed ranks' of the lawbooks. -Cynthia Talbot, Precolonial India in PracliceSociely, Religion and Identity in Medieval Andhra, (OUP), New Delhi, 200 I, 49. 217 Ibid, especially chapter II.
157
get the relative position of the Brahmaqa landholders in relation to other groups in the
cross section of society. But in the beginning we find a special category, where the
members were called mahattaras, who enjoyed the most significant position in rural
society. At the rural level sometimes the members in adhikarana are mentioned by
individual names (in Dhanaidaha of 433, Kalaikuri-Sultanpur of 440 and Jagadishpur
of 448 plates) during the time of land transactions. Among other villagers we see the ... ·
Bi1thmaP.~s are mentioned as a separate group, although some of the mahattaras and
kutumbis were undoubtedly Brahmanas as the expressions and name endings show. In . . the Kalaikuri-Sultanpur218 and Jagadishpur plates219 we get lists of names of all
individuals represented in the mahattara and kufumbi categories in the adhikara~a of ,
the S~rigavera vzthi from where both records were issued with 8 years gap. In each
case the number of mahattaras is considerably less than that of the kufumbis (7:76 for
the former and 4:28 for the latter). The discrepancy is considered as an indicator of
the higher status of the mahattaras amongst the rural landholders.220 Below we will
see that in one case we see the number of mahattaras was far larger than the kufumbis
and so the factor of number cannot be accepted as proof of high status of the
mahattaras. A further focus on the nature of participation in the local adhikara'la of
both these categories would help understand it vis-a-vis the rural society. The
question is that had the mahattaras really participated in the adhikarana in . representative capacity from their community? In the whole Gupta period, at least, we
did not find any mahattara as individual rural landholder, with whatever capacity,
outside the adhikarana. But the other component, the kutumbis, is seen as village . . householders who were not associated with the adhikara11;a. The Damodarpur
copperplate of 483 of the time of Budhagupta221 may be cited here. The appeal for
land transfer put by the gramika Niibhaka to the ash{akuladhikararz.a situated at the
village of Palasavrndaka. The expression shows that when the uparika maharaja
Brahmadatta was ruling Pu!!~ravardhana appointed by the emperor Budhagupta the
218 D. C. Sircar, 'Kalaikuri Copper-plate Inscription of the Gupta Year 120 (=AD. 439)', and N. B. Sanyal, 'Sultanpur copperplate inscription'. 219 luem, Epigraphic Discoveries in Easl Pakislan. 220 It is found that some 'Individuals who are seen as having been listed previously in the category of vithi-mahattaras figured eight years later, as only kutumbis ·. B. D. Chattopadhyaya. Aspects ofRural Society. 43. Our observation shows this happened only for one individual whose name is Umayasha. Even there is no certainty that this Umayasha was the same who was figured 8 years earlier in the Kalaikuri-Sultanpur inscription as a mahauara. 221 R. G. Basak,' The Five Damodarpur copperplate inscriptions of the Gupta period', plate no. 3.
!58
ash!akuladhikaran_a constituted by the visvasa, a special officer,222 the mahattaras, _,
etc., along with the grcunika and kutumbis also from Palasavrndaka
(Pa Iasav,:ndakatsavischa(va)sam mahattaradyash~akul adhikarar;am gramika
ku,tumbinascha) inform the Brahmm~as and ku~umbis of lower status (kshudraprak:ti)
of the village of Cha~H;iag{ama (Cha'}~agramake brahmanadyannakshudra prak;ti
ku{umbina~) about the grant of the appeal after enquiring their welfare. The land to
be transferred was located in Chm?~<Igrama. Like the ku.tumbis here no such separate .,
community of the mahattaras was present from the village of Cha!19ag1=ama. The
manner of the address here reminds us that by the kumaramatya Kulavrddhi of
Panchanaga11 vishaya in the Baigram copperplate of 448 of the time of Kumaragupta
1223 in the same context. There the kuniaramatya after enquiring about their health
communicated the message of grant of the prayer regarding land-transfer of the two
brothers kutumbi Bhoyila and kutumbi Bh'askara to the kutumbis, Brahmanas and - .. • to
others (samvyavaharin/24) of the two localities Triv:ta and SrTgohali of the village
Vayigrama. Here also we do not see mahattaras from these two places amongst the
addressees. Now we may tum to another example from a much earlier date. The
Dhanaidaha inscription of 433, earliest of all the Gupta inscriptions in Bengal, put
forward one gram'Gshfakuladhikarar;a (appears to be of the same nature as the
ashtakuladhikara'!a of the Damodarpur copperplate of 483) for the first time. We find
here a person (with the name-ending Vishnu) informed the gramiishtakullidhikarana . . . along with the kufumbis.. ... brahmmya and mahattaras about the prayer for land
transfer by an ayuktaka and the approval of the same with other details. The prativesl
(i.e. neighbouring householders whose lands were contiguous to the transferred land)
ku~umbis and perhaps the kshetrakaras (the peasantry?) are instructed to establish the
grant i.e. the severance of the plot to hand it over to the applicant. The points that
naturally come out from this record are, first, no mention is made to the mahattaras as
prative'sT and second, the mahattaras are not instructed to establish the grant as the
ku!umbis and others were. Another important point is that the number of mahattaras
( 15) is far greater than the combined number of the ku.tumbis (the damaged space may
include one or two more names) and brahma~as (only 2). On the basis of mahattara-
222 The reading and meaning of the word is dis!Juted. 221 R. G. Basak, 'Baigram copperplate inscription ofthe Gupta year 128'. 224 In samvyavaharins one may find out an indication to mahallaras. In that case also we have to accept the mahauaras as a class which executed some administrative duties in the adhikarana.
159
ku[umbi ratio thus no inference of status at least during this time can be ascertained.
On the other hand, although the number is high in this case still their high status may
be inferred by the fact that for the actual work of severance of the land the mahattaras
were not instructed. They were not mentioned as prativesl. It means that mahattaras
were not a community to be found in all villages like the ku!umbis. The term
ashtakula in gramashtakuladhikarana or ashtakuladhikarana in which they had been . . . . . a significant component may be relevant in this aspect. We came to know about an ,
a!tC?hakulaka in relation to the judicial procedure in the ancient Vajji kingdom. It is
said that this board formed by eight families decided the village disputes. 225 Whether
it carried out the same duty here in rural Bengal in the earliest time cannot be said
definitely. But from the organization and function of the ashtakuladhikarana it . . appears .that the mahattara .ryerhaps ~~njoyed a position in decision making in the
village affairs in normal times. The Damodarpur copperplate of 483 implies that the
whole work from accepting the application to granting the same to handing over the
land to the applicant was done by that ashtakuladhikarana of Pal'asavrndaka. The . ' . actual severance of land was done under the supervision of the mahattaras and others
of the adhikarana (mahattaradyadhikara':a-ku[umbibhiiJ pratyavekshya). No
government official except the record keeper Patradasa has been involved in the
whole procedure of land transaction. 226 Besides, no higher tier except the bhukti is
mentioned in the introductory portion suggesting that ashfakuladhikara"!a
hierarchically stood next leaving no room for a vishaya or a v7thf tier in between. The
uniform picture may be had from the Dhanaidaha record also issued half century
earlier. After giving the date and the name of the emperor Kumaragupta it went
directly to the description of the names of the local communities. The lacuna caused
by the damage may at best incorporate the name of the uparika, the bhukti head. It
also suggests the local nature 111 the adhikaraiJa organization 111 the
gramO.sh~akuladhikara"!a although a difference can be noticed as much as in the
manner of communication. Unlike the Damodarpur copperplate here the message was
communicated by one individual with the name ended in Vishr;u. Whether he was an
office holder is not clear. But otherwise the mahattaras are described in such a way as
225 C/1, Vol3, rev. ed., 1981,337, f. n. 5. 226 There were one gramika Nabhaka, the applicant, who is regarded as government appointee with popular support. Two more persons, Kapila and Sribhadra, are mentioned who collected the price of the land from Nabhaka (1. 8). But their official position is not clear.
160
the gramash~akuladhikara~w was constituted chiefly by them. The damaged portion
prevents us from obtaining details about the tier to which the application was
submitted or the authority by which the prayer was granted. But it appears that the
local adhikarmya (indigenous also) was involved to implement the grant by the
superior higher authority, which IS not clearly mentioned. 227 We see that in this
g/cmzash~akuladhikara~a there is no government official like the pustapa/a or any
other. It thus appears that this organization was originally a non-governmental body
used to look after the rural affairs headed primarily by the mahattaras. When the
Guptas introduced imperial administration they first involved this rural body to carry
out certain rural functions. Gradually they modified this to get it fit for the imperial
system. Thus by the time some officials strictly governmental, like the pustapala,
were inducted in it. The mahattaras in ashtakuladhikarana had been given some . . )
official responsibilities when the record keeper and other officials (an official called
visvasa) were employed. The Damodarpur copperplate of 482 implies so. There is no
mention of any administrative head as we find in the vithT and vishaya levels to
address the adhikarana and others to communicate the whole matter. The ashtakula . . still late·r perhaps underwent further transformation. In Vanga and in Yardhamana
bhukti of Bengal one organization called kula-vara was found as perfonning certain
work as a formal body at the higher tier like vishaya and even bhukti. However, there
was no mahattara involved in it. Perhaps it was constituted by officials called
kara~ika. It might have been a transformed form of the ashfakula.228
The position of the mahattaras underwent significant changes later. They
appeared with higher status all over Bengal. In Burdwan region (in Yardhamana
bhukti) in the late 6th century the mahattaras are found associated with the vishaya
adhikarana when some others were endowed with agrah?iras (the Brahma':a
mahattaras).229 The kufumbis were almost vanished (some Pala records mention this
community in its formal list). There appeared a category like the mahapradhCma also
in the Medinipur district (roughly in Radha area) in the 7th century.230 In
227 This conclusion is drawn by B. D. Chattopadhyaya also.- B. D.Chattopadhaya, Aspects of Rural Settlements, 44. 228 Ibid, 51. 229 Chronologically first it is found in the Mallasarul inscription belonging to present Burdwan district and corresponding to the early Vardhamana bhukti.-N. G. Majumdar, 'Mallasarul Copper plate of Vijayasena'. 230 Egra plate of Sasanka.-p. C. Sircar, 'Sasanker Rajatvakalin Egra Tamrasasan (The Egra copperplate of the time ofSasi"uika, in Bengali), Sahitya Parishad Patrika, No.4, year 87, 1-5.
161
Pundravardhana itself the mahattara even rose to the status of mahamahattaras in the
8111 century.231 It is already focused how the change left impact in community structure
and organization of settlements in villages where the gift land was located as well as
local administration in rural Bengal. 232
In the present day still in Uttar Dinajpur district a Mahato is to be found in
Rajbangshi villages. His opinion is sought in all important affairs of any member of
the village (persoml experience). In such cases a Mahato is the eldest member of a
kin group, members of which may live in a single village or in contiguous small
habitats. Mahato may keep a vestige of mahattara of early North Bengal. F. B.
Hamilton found 'Mahato' as a village chief in eastern Bihar.233 We may remember
that in the MahZivastu we get mahattara as a chief in the tribal assembly of the
Lichchhavis.234 The ku{umbis were the largest social group to be found in all villages.
But the individuals associated in the adhikara'!a must have been the significant ones.
In standard Bengali the term kutumba means relative from other villages or town.
Above we mentioned that the var'!a rank for the people of Puq.qravardhana
never occurred in the epigraphs. Even the Brahmaga when having certain occupation
or social status like mahattara is to be figured with his acquired rank. In the I
Dhanaidaha we see two Brahmal}a Siva£arma and Nagasarma are present in the
brahmafia category but the other four Kshemedatta, Vishq.udeva~arma, Vislu!ubhadra
' and Sribhadra are figured in the category of mahattara where we see at least 15
mahattaras in all. The same happened for other cases also. In the first two Damodar
plates we get one Sthanudatta in three membered sarthavG:ha category in the
vishayadhikaran_a of Kot.ivarsha. In the same plate the kulika category includes
Varadatta and Mahi'datta. The example can be multilied. The individuals with datta
name-endings are here accepted as Brahman.a as we found such Brahmar:as in the
Kalaikuri-Sultanpur and Mallasarul plates. It shows on one hand that Brahmanas were
engaged in different types of professions and in such cases were recognized by their
occupation not by their var'!a rank. Even in the ku~umbi category which represented )
the average agriculturists in the vithyadhikarana of Srrigavera we see the Brahmana . . . individuals like Magha~atma, Haris~rma, Gupta~armii, and many others (Kalaikuri-
231 Khalimpur plate of Dharmapa1a.-F. Kielhorn, 'Khalimpur Plate of Dharmapaladeva'. 232 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Aspects of Rural Settlements, 45-54. 233 Eastemlndia, Vol. I, 316. 234 N. K. Bhattasali, Iconography oj"Buddhist and Brahmanica! Scufplllres in Dacca Museum, Dacca, 1929. 65.
162
Sultanpur plate). It appears that social position did not depend on any individual's
Brahmana status. Local norms grown independently of the Brahmal!a influence did
not loose relevance during the time of the Guptas.
Same picture may be had from other parts of Bengal. Jn the Mallasarul grant
we see the individual Brahmana is described first as a mahattara then occurred his
status as agraharTiJa. There also his Brahma~a rank was not mentioned. It is his name
and his becoming agraharD~a. which sp~ak··~f his Brahmana entity. At the same time
we see among the average agriculturists in villages where the donated land was
located the Brahmana neighbours as a group is mentioned separately along with the
ku(umbis. Jt shows that in villages the Brahmaryas already emerged as a group to be
mentioned separately from the average ku{wnbis. But in particular case a Brahmaqa if
in occupation other than agriculture or in a recognized category like mahattara it got
preference.
The Pala Period
With the growmg practice of land donation in the post-Gupta time the
presence of Brahmat:a in rural society became more significant. The grant now
directly emanated from the king. The actual donor had to put his prayer to the king via
a dittaka who always had been a high dignitary. B. D. Chattopadhyaya has given
example from the Midnapur plate where the Tavira karan,am described as vipra
pradhana samgatam. 235 With time the BrahmaQa community itself would undergo
some changes, which is explicit in the existence of stratification in it.
Of the neighbouring inhabitants (prativasina), to whom the communication of
land grant went along with numerous officials, ministers, etc., the description often
starts with the Brahma!}as, mahamahattara, ku_tumbi who are notables (puroge). At
the end invariably comes the chat;cjiilas. The gift meant making room in the rural
society for the new Brahmana landholders with a new status agraharina. It can be . . explained from the following evidence. From the Silimpur village of Khetlal P. S. in
old Bogra district one inscription of the II 111 cent~ry 236 is discovered. It puts forward
two villages located in the same P. S. It records some religious works by a Brahma~a,
Prahasa. The description shows that all his religious works together cost him a good
amount of money. He even kept land of 7 dron_as separately in a place called Sirisha-
215 B. D. Chattopadhyaya, Aspects of Rural Settlements, 51. cJ6 R. G. Basak, 'Silimpur stone-slab inscription of the time of Jayapala-deva'.
163
puhja for the god he installed in a temple. But the important point is that it states I
about some Brahman~s, who came from a place called Tarkari in Sravast1 and settled
in Valagrama i. e. Baligram (in Khetlal P. S.). In this village lived many Brahmar~as.
Later some of them who were residing in its eastern part, the descendants of pm_1qita
families, learned in different branches of knowledge, wanted to live separately in a I
quiet place and migrated to the neighbouring village of Siyamva237 (tat-purvva-
kharzqa-bhava-pal'}qita-van1sajanaliz sthana,jz sva-karmma-nirata-dvija-sattmiinanii
;iintatmanani virala-vasiisamThayaiva S[yamvakakhyamiha from verses 5-6). The
Brahma~a Prahasa, the issuer of this copperplate, traced his ancestry from 7 I
generations back from the member who was born in Sryamva after the learned
BrahmaiJas settled in this village leaving Yalagnima. It means that the first migration
from Tarkari took place even earlier pc ·haps an6ther 7 or 8 generations back pushing
the event to some 3-4 centuries before from Prahasa who flourished in the II 111
century. The record gives us a number of information. First, it shows an instance of a
new settlement of some Brahman.as who came from a different place (we are not I
going into the controversy whether the place called Sravasti was within
Pu!].qravardhana or somewhere else). In this case there is a high probability of
endowing these Brahmaqas by an agrahara in \ralagrama. And it happened in so
early a date perhaps in the beginning of the Pala rule. When some of these Brahma1.1as I
once again migrated to the neighbouring village of Siyamva because of their high
learning it naturally comes out that their learning created a distance from their not
learned Bfahmaqa neighbours who perhaps lost touch with learning over some
generations. And perhaps the learned migratory group of Brahman.as did so on the I
strength of having another agrahara in the new village, i. e. in Siyamva. This record
thus shows creation of stratification among the Brahma~as who originally lived
together in and came together from a place called Tarkari. Pral1asa, the issuer, was
highly esteemed for his profound knowledge in 1iistras. He earned fortune also
enabling him to build temples and some other religious works. It means that the two (
villages valagrama and Slyamva although were neighbours and settled by the
Brahman.as grew to enjoy differential social status. That Valagnima was a prosperous
village is proved by the extensive site in present Baligram in Khetlal P. S. (see Table
ID). The neighbouring village Silimpur also shows significant remains.
237 It may be identified with present day Silimpur, the find spot of this plate.
164
Even an early form of the stratification among Bt=Jhmat~as may be found from
a Gupta epigraph. In the Damodarpur record of 483 the Brahmm~as and ku{umbis of
Chandagrama were described as kshudraprakrti i.e. of inferior status by the . . . ' ash(akuladhikarm7a of Palasav~ndaka. This perhaps indicates the superior position of
- I those categories participated in the ashfakulaadhikarm.w of Palas<lVI_-ndaka. Whatever
be the reason the stratification in the social status is explicit.
Somewhere in between settlements emerged an entirely new habitat of the
Brahman~s; the land gifted gradually developed to a prominent village of elite
Brahmat~as in the 8/9th centuries onward. The Badal Pillar inscription238 poses one
such habitat. It is another unique evidence of an eulogistic epigraph of a Brahmara
family. We came to know about 4 Brahmana ministers belonging to 4 successive
generations and serving successively from Dharmapala to Na;rayanapala. The
eulogistic description of high position they enjoyed in the royal court, which they
earned by their valuable service and profound capacity as ministers, and the fact of
engraving their achievements itself in a high pillar in the heartland of Varendri when
the Pala kings were still reigning prove the domineering presence of this family. By
the time of four generations the family must have enlarged and the members of this
extended family might have created a separate habitat. The archaeological
environment of the area around the pillar at some distance, the living tradition and the
content of the text of the Badal Pillar when combined imply that later it developed
into a village. 239 The members of this village undoubtedly received a very high status
not only in the neighbouring villages but also perhaps in the whole sub-region of
Pundravardhana/Varendri.
It is true that Pala kings in their inscription never tried to show their descent
nor they claimed any van;,a status. While the epigraphs define clearly their religious
affinity. This only shows that ~astric norm still did not take root. The texts like the
Ramacharita of this age, on the other hand, spent pages for describing the lineage of
the Pala kings. This appears as an account of the court poet himself to glorify his
master for his personal benefit. Besides, the varf}a speculation was an essential part
of textual works. All categories of texts did it. The Pala land grants directly emanated
from the king. The large officialdom and the communities, the neighbours to the
donated land, were informed about the royal decision and instructed to maintain the
238 A. K. Maitreya, Gauralekhamala. Rajshahi, 1912, 77-85. 239 A. K. M. Zakaria, Bangladesher Pratnasampad, 236-37.
165
same. Later records maintained the same format with some omissions and inclusions.
The enumeration of the prativeSrs always starts with the Brahma~a first followed by
sometimes mahattara-ku{wnbis as leading categories (puroge). 240 Everywhere it ends
with the chandala, the outcaste of the lawbooks. With all these there is no doubt that a .. class of the Brahmaqas was acquiring a very significant place in society
approximating the normative status put by the ~astras. The high status, which the ....
Brahmm,1a secured in this age, lured others in the cross section of non-Brahma!Ja
communities to aspire the Brihma~a rank in the medieval age. In this point our
observation differs from that of Cynthia Talbot who found British hands in raising the
Brahman!! status to the ~astric height. In this respect the reference to the chaYfcfala is
significant. The social position of chaflrfiila as outcaste and outside the village but in
its periphery is the work of Brahmana lawgivers. Chandala was an essential member . . . of society because of his service so as a community cha~Jqdla's reference is to be
found but it must be at the end. Here at once we see the lawgiver's unavoidable
presence as a determinant factor in the respective position of communities. The
hierarchical social framework to be found in the Pala period, when one would expect
less Brahma~a influence because of Pala kings' Buddhist adherence, distinctively
shows how the authoritative ~astric order dominated the social order.
24° For example Bangarh plate of Mahipala I, Belwa plate of the same king and that ofYigrahapala Ill, etc.